76
JOBS FOR SHARED PROSPERITY
FIGURE 2.11 NEET and unemployment rates in selected economies in MENA for individuals ages 15–24
a. NEET rates by educational level, 2005–10
b. Unemployment rates by educational level, 2005–10
Morocco
Morocco
Yemen, Rep.
Yemen, Rep.
West Bank and Gaza
West Bank and Gaza
Tunisia
Tunisia
Jordan
Jordan
Iraq
Iraq
Egypt, Arab Rep.
Egypt, Arab Rep. 0
10
20
Tertiary
30 40 50 60 70 Percent Secondary Primary
0
10 Tertiary
20
30 40 Percent Secondary
50
60
70
Primary
Source: Based on the Arab Republic of Egypt’s SYPE 2009, Iraq’s HSES 2006, Jordan’s LMPS 2010, Morocco’s LFS 2009, Tunisia’s LFS 2010, the West Bank and Gaza’s LFS 2008, and the Republic of Yemen’s Household Budget Survey (HBS) 2005. Note: NEET = neither in education, employment, nor training; MENA = Middle East and North Africa.
workers (La Cava et al. 2012a). Similarly, the survey on youth in Upper Egypt shows a high rate of discouragement among inactive youth (La Cava et al. 2012b). Although the additional detrimental effects of joblessness in MENA are not covered in detail in this report, it is important to highlight them; they include delays in marriage; increase in risky behaviors, such as substance abuse for young men and prostitution for young women; greater exposure to violence, including political violence; and unsafe migration (Assaad and Barsoum 2007; Boudarbat and Ajbilou 2007; Kabbani and Kamel 2007; Silver 2007; World Bank 2007, 2012a, 2012b).
FIGURE 2.12 Labor market status of NEET youth in selected economies in MENA, by gender, 2005–10
% out of school / out of work (ages 15–24 )
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 F
M
Iraq
F
M
F
M
F
M
F
M
F
M
F
M
Yemen, Egypt, Jordan West Bank Tunisia Lebanon and Gaza Rep. Arab Rep. Inactive, out of school
Unemployed
Source: Based on the Arab Republic of Egypt’s LMPS 2006, Iraq’s HSES 2006, Jordan’s LMPS 2010, Lebanon’s Employer-Employee Survey 2010, Tunisia’s LFS 2010, the West Bank and Gaza’s LFS 2008, and the Republic of Yemen’s HBS 2005. See the appendix for more information on these surveys. Note: NEET = neither in education, employment, nor training; MENA = Middle East and North Africa; F = females; M = males.
A slow school-to-work transition High NEET rates among youth are mainly the result of a slow and incomplete transition from school to work. A proxy measure of the duration of the transition from school into employment in absence of crosscountry data on individual work histories is given by the age in which a youth cohort