The Report on Youth Employment in Angola: Opportunities, Challenges and Guidelines for Public Policies, prepared by the World Bank (WB) and presented this Wednesday, in Luanda, reports that in the last decade 3.5 million jobs were created in the country.
There are currently 9.1 million jobs in Angola, namely 55 percent self-employed, 10 percent family, 7 percent employer, 20 percent private and 11 percent public, stresses the report.
Of the 9.1 million jobs, 5.5 million are self-employed or unpaid and 2.8 million are in the private and public sector.
"Most of the new jobs are of low quality. In the last decade, 3.5 million jobs were created, of which 2.7 million were created in the sectors of agriculture and low quality commerce", refers in the study.
According to the WB document, prepared with the support of the National Institute of Employment and Professional Training (INEFOP), the "young [and growing] population in the country is not being sufficiently absorbed by the workforce".
This scenario "threatens the future economic and social stability of Angola", he points out.
In percentage terms, 22 percent of young people in the country are unemployed, 85 percent work in low-quality jobs, and 20 percent earn 20 percent less than adults.
"Young women, young people living in rural areas and young people from poor families fare even worse", reads the survey.
According to the study, presented at a ceremony promoted by the BM in partnership with the Ministry of Public Administration, Work and Social Security (MAPTSS), the "main drivers" of job growth in the country register a "weak performance" at the macroeconomic level, of the company , workers, vulnerability and politics.
At the macroeconomic level, "economic growth is largely driven by the number of workers" and "must be driven by productivity, generated by more skilled workers and technology".
The study points out that in the business domain, eight out of 10 formal sector companies "struggle to create jobs".
"A diverse and productive private sector can generate more quality jobs quickly," he observes.
At the level of workers, "one of the main drivers of growth in underperforming jobs", 32 percent of adults and 57 percent of young people have completed secondary education, "but 83 percent of the unemployed are young people".
For the World Bank, a more educated workforce and job opportunities for young people can boost the growth of quality jobs.
In the vulnerability chapter, the survey finds that 96 percent of young people "are economically vulnerable and are not prepared for quality jobs". Young people who overcome social barriers "are more employable".
As for the political level, 24 percent of the Government's employment programs "are designed for vulnerable young people", considers the study, which adds that "programs that address specific vulnerabilities can better integrate young people into employment".
In the World Bank's view, to resolve the youth employment challenge, Angola needs a multisectoral employment strategy that balances policies for short-term and long-term results.
Ensuring the solidity of fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies, increasing productivity and stable growth and strengthening labor market institutions are the recommendations pointed out by the BM to alleviate structural constraints in the long term.
Policies that "affect structural constraints" in the long term "will help the Angolan economy to create and connect with markets, increase the number and productivity of jobs in the private sector and strengthen institutions", points out the BM.
The study also proposes short-term policies to support increases in self-employment productivity, improve vulnerable youth's relevant job skills, and facilitate youth's transition to employment and increased productivity.
Policies with short-term impacts can be implemented in the current economic and business context, helping workers to build capacity and connect to better employment opportunities and earnings, either through salaried work or their own companies, the report also suggests.
"Angola is at a very critical moment and a multisectoral strategy is needed to stimulate job creation", said Ema Monsalve, a World Bank technician, in the presentation of the report.
Although economic and private sector policies "are moving in the right direction, employment prospects are still limited and most young people are vulnerable, facing multiple social and economic constraints to be productive workers", she underlined.
