Industrilisation strategy needs re-assessment, Dr Twumasi Baffuor
46 percent of persons have given up hope of employment, GSS report
Worse rate of unemployment among young adults, Statistical Service
Dr. Priscilla Twumasi Baffuor of the Economics Department at the University of Ghana has described Ghana’s rising unemployment rate as one that presents a growing national security threat.
According to her, the menace ought to be tackled hands on in order to avert a looming crisis in the economy particularly with regards to job creation.
Speaking on the JoyNews Newsfile segment last Saturday, Dr. Twumasi Baffuor explained that a recent report released by Ghana Statistical Service touching on the country’s labour market highlights the need for a critical re-assessment on job creation strategies.
“Among the population, 13-35 years is 19.7%. Even worse is the rate of unemployment among young adults, 15-24 years is 33%. So, when you take three young adults in Ghana, one is definitely not employed. This is quite alarming and a matter of national security threat, particularly with examples we have seen in other African countries like in the Arab spring.
“Just before Christmas [2021], we saw that the Ghana Statistical Service released one of its reports and the section on the labour market is quite telling of the need for us to take a critical look at employment generation challenges we have faced as a country. And when you look critically at the report, you see that the unemployment rate among the population 15 years and over, is 13.4%,” she said.
Dr. Twumasi Baffuor further points the report shows a grim outlook that more than 46 percent of persons have given up hope of gaining employment.
“What is equally worrying in the report is the fact that more than 46% of unemployed persons have given up hope. They are no longer looking for jobs although they are available to work. So indeed, this is something that should tell us that as a country, we need to take a very critical look at our strategies towards employment generation,” the Economist emphasised.
To mitigate this, the UG Economist advised government to have a re-look at its industrilisation strategy as it has not offered that much employment for some time.
“As a country, we need to take a serious look at the structure of the economy. For example, why does the economy perform well in terms of growth on average but struggles to create jobs? Perhaps, it is time for us to pause and assess our industrialisation strategy over time. Why does it appear to be having a meaningful impact on unemployment in the country?” she quizzed.