Unemployment is only a small part of Africa’s employment problem. Equally critical are the too few well-paying jobs, low average earnings for those who do work, irregular and casual employment, the uncertainty of work time, and jobs without labor regulations or workplace protections.

Specific to the youth is the significantly high number of youths entering the job market each year that outpaces the new jobs created, a high number of youth unemployment and underemployment which disproportionately affects young women, youth skills gaps, limited access to opportunities, poor youth organization and lack of deliberate and systematic linkages between the youth and ongoing government programs. Affecting both youth and adults, together these employment related problems merge to put significant pressures on people’s abilities to meet even the most basic needs of life at individual and household levels.