{ "title": "The Clock is Ticking on Sub-Saharan Africa’s Urgent Job Creation Challenge", "publication": "IMF Blog, November 12, 2024", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2024/11/12/the-clock-is-ticking-on-sub-saharan-africas-urgent-job-creation-challenge", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2024/11/12/the-clock-is-ticking-on-sub-saharan-africas-urgent-job-creation-challenge", "overlayPath": "/en/blogs/articles/2024/11/12/the-clock-is-ticking-on-sub-saharan-africas-urgent-job-creation-challenge/index.md", "summary": "To employ a growing population, the region needs to transform informal jobs, reduce barriers to business growth, and create conditions conductive to jobs growth in higher productivity sectors—especially in fragile and low-income countries.", "sections": [ { "heading": "Scale and urgency of the challenge", "content": "- By 2030, half of all new entrants into the global labor force will come from sub-Saharan Africa, requiring the creation of up to 15 million new jobs annually.\n- Fragile, conflict-affected, and low-income economies account for nearly 80 percent of the region’s annual job creation needs but have struggled the most to create jobs.\n- Example: Niger has a population of 26 million people and a youth population share that is not expected to peak until 2058—the country will need to create 650,000 new jobs annually for the next 30 years.\n- Many middle-income countries such as Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, and Mauritius have seen their youth shares of populations peak already and will face less severe job creation pressures." }, { "heading": "Objectives for employment outcomes", "content": "- Generate vast numbers of productive, quality jobs that provide above-subsistence-level income, in both formal roles and self-employment.\n- Ensure youth—especially young women who face additional barriers—can enter and succeed in the labor market." }, { "heading": "Three main challenges (and policy directions)", "content": "1. Shifting informal jobs from a trap to a stepping-stone\n - Boost productivity in the informal sector through well matched skills training.\n - Improve access to finance for informal entrepreneurs.\n - Design policies that encourage transitioning to formal employment.\n - Create labor market programs targeting young people and women.\n\n2. Creating conditions conducive to jobs growth in high-productivity sectors (modern services and manufacturing)\n - Prioritize measures that benefit multiple sectors given limited public finances (for example, improving market competition and making value-for-money infrastructure investments).\n - Exercise caution with sector-targeted industrial policies because they can be expensive, distortionary, and pose corruption risks.\n\n3. Breaking down barriers to private business growth\n - Prioritize infrastructure: electricity, internet, roads, and affordable public transport.\n - Cut red tape and curb corruption to help companies grow.\n - Attract more foreign direct investment and develop local capital markets to increase financing availability.\n - Strengthen regional integration and trade to expand markets." }, { "heading": "Broader implications and recommended focus", "content": "- Robust jobs growth in sub-Saharan Africa would provide an engine of growth, consumption, and investment for the global economy.\n- Failure to create sufficient jobs could exacerbate poverty, fuel instability, and drive migration.\n- Policymakers should strive for meaningful, targeted reforms that open a path for millions toward sustainable employment and shared prosperity.\n\nBased on an analytical note included in the October 2024 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, \"The Clock is Ticking on Sub-Saharan Africa’s Urgent Job Creation Challenge,\" and the Analytical Corner presentation by Athene Laws and Faten Saliba during the October 2024 Annual Meetings.\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- sub-Saharan Africa\n- industrial policies\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2024/11/12/the-clock-is-ticking-on-sub-saharan-africas-urgent-job-creation-challenge" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2024/11/12/the-clock-is-ticking-on-sub-saharan-africas-urgent-job-creation-challenge/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/blogs/articles/2024/11/12/the-clock-is-ticking-on-sub-saharan-africas-urgent-job-creation-challenge/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/blogs/articles/2024/11/12/the-clock-is-ticking-on-sub-saharan-africas-urgent-job-creation-challenge/bundle-manifest.json)", "Authors: Athene Laws, Faten Saliba, Can Sever, Luc Tucker", "Published: November 12, 2024", "By 2030, half of all new entrants into the global labor force will come from sub-Saharan Africa, requiring the creation of up to 15 million new jobs annually.", "Fragile, conflict-affected, and low-income economies account for nearly 80 percent of the region’s annual job creation needs but have struggled the most to create jobs.", "Example: Niger has a population of 26 million people and a youth population share that is not expected to peak until 2058—the country will need to create 650,000 new jobs annually for the next 30 years.", "Many middle-income countries such as Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, and Mauritius have seen their youth shares of populations peak already and will face less severe job creation pressures.", "Generate vast numbers of productive, quality jobs that provide above-subsistence-level income, in both formal roles and self-employment.", "Ensure youth—especially young women who face additional barriers—can enter and succeed in the labor market.", "Robust jobs growth in sub-Saharan Africa would provide an engine of growth, consumption, and investment for the global economy.", "Failure to create sufficient jobs could exacerbate poverty, fuel instability, and drive migration.", "Policymakers should strive for meaningful, targeted reforms that open a path for millions toward sustainable employment and shared prosperity.", "[sub-Saharan Africa](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/SSA/Issues/2024/10/25/regional-economic-outlook-for-sub-saharan-africa-october-2024)", "[industrial policies](https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2024/04/12/industrial-policy-is-back-but-the-bar-to-get-it-right-is-high)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/blogs/articles/2024/11/12/the-clock-is-ticking-on-sub-saharan-africas-urgent-job-creation-challenge/index.md", "json": "/en/blogs/articles/2024/11/12/the-clock-is-ticking-on-sub-saharan-africas-urgent-job-creation-challenge/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/blogs/articles/2024/11/12/the-clock-is-ticking-on-sub-saharan-africas-urgent-job-creation-challenge/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-08-28T18:08:24.892Z" }