Youth unemployment is one of the fundamental labour market challenges for The Gambia.
It is a reflection of the willingness and desire of unemployed individuals to work.
openings suggest policy failure which has socio-economic implications. Youth unemployment, if not addressed immediately tends to create social vices.
As already mentioned, the problem of high youth unemployment is a global phenomenon.
According to AfDB, in 2012, less than 15% of youth in the labour market in many African countries are in wage employment.
Africa has both the highest share in the working age population and youth population growth rate as compared to other continents.
Furthermore, about 60 percent of persons unemployed in the continent are estimated to be below 30 years old.
Nonetheless concerns are being raised about social unrest, depression, political instability, crime and conflict.
According to the most recent labour force survey (GBoS GLFS, 2018), a high youth unemployment rate of 41.5 per cent exists in The Gambia.
Furthermore, youth Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) stands at 56.8 per cent.
Acute unemployment and underemployment problems in the country especially amongst youth and women has been major challenges to the government of The Gambia and that is why it has prepared and implemented two national employment generation strategy papers.
The National Employment Action Plan (NEAP) 2003-2008, the National Employment Policy (NEP) 2010-2014 and a midterm development strategy paper in the name of Programme for Accelerated growth and Employment (PAGE) for the period of 2012 - 2015 to combat poverty as well as induce growth and employment.
Recently the government has introduced another midterm development plan; The National Development Plan (NDP) 2017-2021 and a new employment policy; National Employment Policy
(NEP) 2020-2024.
However, it is not clear whether these will succeed unless the government has a clear and in-depth understanding of the main determinants of unemployment.
Most of the previous studies on unemployment in The Gambia have mainly been descriptive in nature and at most merely present the unemployment profile of the country.
Moreover, unemployment duration is another facet of unemployment in The Gambia which has not been explored implement and predict the effect of employment creation strategies, it must have an in-depth
understanding of unemployment in relation to the various sub-groups of the population.
The Gambia is a country in West Africa and the smallest country in mainland Africa, spanning just 10,120 square kilometres.
Its population density of about 201.43 persons per square kilometres of land area and is among the top 10 in mainland Africa.
It winds along a narrow strip of land that spans the Gambia River, and water covers 10 percent of its total surface area.
The river runs from east to west, dividing the country into two banks, each of which is 25 to 50 kilometres wide and about 300 kilometres long.
The country is surrounded by Senegal except on the Atlantic Ocean at its western end.
There is no distinct border to distinguish these two countries which presents both challenges and opportunities.
The Gambia has access to international markets through the Port of Banjul and has close economic ties with its regional neighbours.
Its geographic location between the metropolitan hub of Dakar to
the north and the national capitals of Bissau and Conakry to the south forms an important overland
transit corridor, and trade with these countries shapes economic opportunities.
The Gambia is geographically and climatologically diverse in temperatures, altitudes and weather.
This rich terrain supports a rich diversity of plant and animal life, and income-generating activities tied to the country’s natural endowments but remain under-utilized.
The Gambia is rich in cultural diversity - lifestyles vary from traditional groups in rural areas to
cosmopolitan cities such as Banjul and Kanifing.
Ethnicity transcends its political borders and most ethnic groups share similar class hierarchies, which are often inherited from ancient societies, and interethnic marriages are common and widely accepted.
Unlike other West African countries, The Gambia has enjoyed long spells of stability since independence although that has not translated to economic prosperity.
Tourism remains the most important source of foreign exchange as well as remittances from abroad.
Source-Youth news
