DUBAI// More than 80 per cent of unemployed Emiratis are young people between 15 and 24, according to a report released yesterday by the Dubai School of Government and the Wolfensohn Center for Development at Brookings.
The report, “Missed by the Boom, Hurt by the Bust; Making Markets Work for Young People in the Middle East”, was based on three years of research done to assess economic challenges facing young people in the Arab world.
It concluded that almost 25 per cent of them were unemployed, well above the world average of 14 per cent.
“It is really not easy to be a graduate in today’s market,” said Nicolas Deflau, managing director of ND & Associates, a recruitment agency based in Silicon Oasis in Dubai.
“There are so many good, experienced people searching for jobs in the market, and these are the people the fresh graduates are now competing with. Companies would rather hire someone who can hit the ground running, than take the time to train someone from scratch.”
The report found that entry-level positions in the region tended to go to migrant workers or older employees rather than fresh graduates, and more than 70 per cent of the unemployed were youth in some nations, including Jordan.
Many young people considered certain jobs or salaries to be below their worth, the report said.
Long periods of unemployment between school and work were common, with some countries quoting a search period of up to 34 months before finding employment.
“For many, the state of prolonged unemployment reflects a mismatch between expectations and the quality of jobs available.”
The report singled out an employment law passed in February making it harder to sack UAE nationals and protecting their rights in the case of redundancies.
“In the future, firms will be more hesitant to hire young nationals because of new restrictions on dismissing Emirati workers,” it says. “Instead, they will hire foreign nationals (whom they can dismiss) or older Emiratis with a proven record of experience rather than take a risk on hiring a young Emirati with unknown skills or qualifications.”
It called the law a “permanent solution to a temporary problem”, that would do more harm than good.
Furthermore, according to the report, the Middle East is currently witnessing for the first time an increased proportion of young in the total population, with approximately 32 per cent of the Arab world being made up of those between the ages of 15 and 24.
This figure, coupled with the current economic slowdown, would create further pressure on the job market and reduce entry-level positions.
“For the Middle East, the drop in GDP growth comes at an exceptionally bad time, as millions of young people are entering the labour market,” said Tarik Yousef, dean of the Dubai School of Government and non-resident senior fellow at the Wolfensohn Center. “The scale of this challenge can only be addressed by countries forging greater co-operation on youth policies and programmes.”
“This means greater investments in young people from the private sector, government, and civil society.”
“The Middle East is facing a new economic reality, and young people risk bearing the brunt of this downturn. When societies fail to create hope and prosperity for their young, they place their future development in jeopardy,” said James D Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank and founder of the centre at Brookings. “As leaders gather this week at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, improving the welfare of young people and long-term human capital development should be placed at the top of the agenda.”
The report is the first of its kind in assessing the risks faced by youth in the current economic climate.
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