Jobs crisis in the Arab World

The unemployment rate in the MENA region is twice the rate of the global average and is increasing, according to a recent report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

According to the ILO Global Employment Trends for Youth Report 2013, the rates in the Middle East and North Africa, 28.3% and 23.7% respectively, are rising and are expected to reach 30% in the Middle East and 24% in North Africa by 2018.

The report also showed that youth and women continue to bear the brunt of joblessness. 42.6% of women in the Middle East are unemployed. This rate is high despite the fact that the women’s labor participation rate is the lowest in the world, at only 13.2% in 2012.

Furthermore, the youth unemployment rate in the Middle East was more than four times that for adults, the largest youth-to-adult unemployment ratio in the world.