Employment promotion in the Arab States

In the Arab States, the issue of decent job creation has a prominent place on the agendas of national governments as well as regional and international organizations, particularly amidst the recent economic and geopolitical developments in the region. Unemployment is relatively higher among women and youth, despite the increase in educational levels among both population groups. In general, challenges to decent employment creation in the Arab States remain manifold and interlinked. In partnership with its tripartite constituents- government, workers’ and employers’ organizations- the ILO works to address decent work deficits through a set of policy interventions carefully designed to respond to the specific national contexts and needs. See more

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• In 2018, total unemployment rate in the Arab States registered 7.3 per cent with more than 4 million individuals seeking employment.
• Excluding the GCC - where large numbers of migrant workers work – the unemployment rate in the Middle East stands at 10.8 per cent, suggesting a particularly critical situation in the non-GCC countries, where political instability, active conflicts and security risks continue to undermine socio-economic development.
• One in five young men and women were out of work in 2018 in the Arab region, compared to a global youth unemployment rate of 11.8 per cent.
• The unemployment rate among Arab women is more than twice that of men, registering 15.6 per cent in 2018 compared to a male rate of 5.8 per cent.
• Labour force participation among women stands at 18.4 per cent relative to 77.2 per cent among Arab men. Interestingly, Arab men’s participation in the labour force is higher than the world average (74.9 per cent) whereas that of Arab women is incomparably lower (global average participation rate of women is 48 per cent).
• In addition to the 4 million unemployed individuals in the region, there are another 4.5 million persons in the potential labour force: people who are not in employment and a) are looking for a job but not yet available to work (unavailable jobseekers), or b) are available to work but are not looking (available potential jobseekers). This gives a tally of at least 9.5 million underutilized persons in the region, before accounting for those who are under-employed.
• In terms of quality of employment, it is estimated that more than 8 million workers in the Arab region lived in extreme or moderate poverty in 2018 while vulnerable employment constituted 15.4 per cent of total employment in the region.
• Informal employment is also relatively high, accounting for more than two thirds of the region’s total employment as of 2016.
• Comprehensive National Employment policies exist in only 4 countries of the Arab States region, namely Jordan, KSA, Iraq (including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq) and more recently the UAE.

Source: ILO

Jordan

• Created 133,816 workdays in agriculture and infrastructure for Jordanians and Syrian refugees.

Lebanon

• Launched the first Employment Intensive Infrastructure Programme (EIIP) generated up to 96,000 workdays for 2,400 individuals.
• Employment service providers achieved a 37.3% increase in successful matches between job seekers and employers in North Lebanon.
• Official Agricultural Technical Schools updated nation-wide vocational training curricula on high value added potato and leafy green vegetables.

Iraq

• The Kurdistan Regional Government developed a National Employment Policy and an Action Plan for its implementation.

occupied Palestinian territory

• Launched the Cooperative Sector Strategy which promotes decent employment with an emphasis on women and youth.
• Adopted the Cooperative Law which will provide better opportunities for coop development in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Yemen

• Developed the National Youth Employment Action Plan which aims to reduce youth unemployment.