Ensuring decent employment for Africa’s poor: Key challenges

Interest in Africa’s employment challenge is not new. On several occasions over the past three decades African governments have identified employment creation as the key to the fight against poverty.1 Despite political agreement on the centrality of employment creation in African countries’ development strategies, the employment content in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) remains weak. Because employment issues have not received the priority they deserve, detailed and reliable labour data are difficult to find for Africa. This could explain the rarity of systematic analyses of African labour markets. By devoting Economic Report on Africa 2005 to this topic, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has acknowledged the need for a thorough analysis of employment issues to inform poverty reduction policies implemented in African countries.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Reduced Inequalities

Partnerships for the Goals