Unemployment

UNEMPLOYMENT DEEPENS IN UGANDA Uganda is in a trying moment with thousands of graduates who pour onto the streets every year yet to find jobs. Statistics from the labour department show that 390,000 students who finish tertiary education each year have only 8,000 jobs to fight for. This means that for every one job that is available they are about 50 people to fill it. Statistics from all government departments point to major job crisis in Uganda. According to the labour force flow figures at the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) and the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), of the more than 400,000 Ugandans who enter the labour market each year, only about 113,000 are absorbed in formal employment, leaving the rest have to join the informal sector. The UBOS findings indicate that illiterates are more likely to be available for any work than the literates. Uganda's unemployment rate stands at 80 per cent and underemployment, which is mainly prevalent in rural areas, is at 17 per cent. Statistics from the Labour Department show that the current labour force is estimated at 9.8 million, of which 53 per cent are females. About 75 per cent of the labour forces are aged below 40. Rural areas account for 85 per cent of the labour force involved in agriculture and other informal activities. Uganda is certainty sitting on a time bomb is a solution to this problem is not got very fast. What is so bad is that politicians in Uganda don’t seem to take this problem as a very serious issue. Some people blame the education system in Uganda for producing job seekers instead of job creators. They point to the fact that some degree programmes offered in some universities have little relevance to the employment situation or job market. But some analysts say that any efforts to generate employment in the country should, as a first step, should focus on removing obstacles to job creation and accessibility in the urban areas and among the youth and women. Mr. Kinobe the Ugandan State Minister for Youth believes that if the central government and local governments provided adequate land for investors this would go a long way to ease creation of industries. He says informal sector, including urban street vendors, hawkers and small-scale informal industries also need to be given special attention. According to Sam Lyomoki workers MP he notes that there isn’t follow up of employment trends and job market demand by the government. Sam wonders why government doesn’t have a national employment policy up to now cause he thinks this is the only why the employment crisis can be dealt with. The government has its work cut to find a solution to this worrying trend, the political stability in Uganda could depend on government handles this crisis in the coming years. Published: May 21, 2007