Africa

The production and distribution of film and audiovisual works is one of the most dynamic growth sectors in the world. Thanks to digital technologies, production has been growing rapidly in Africa in recent years. The case of "Nollywood", with about 2,500 films made each year, is emblematic in this respect. It has enabled the emergence of a local industry of production and distribution with its own economic model. Yet across most of the continent, the economic potential of the film and audiovisual sectors remains largely untapped.

The cultural and creative industries are among the most rapidly growing economic sectors. They generate almost 50 million jobs worldwide and offer employment for women and youth. Apart from their economic value, CCIs create identity, bring people into dialogue, and contribute to democracy. To nurture this potential, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) launched a supra-regional project that focuses on cultural and creative work as a vehicle for sustainable development.

Since 2018, the German Federal Ministry for  Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has been promoting the sector cultural and creative industries (CCI) through its implementing organisations Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale  Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Goethe-Institut. This future oriented sector offers important levers for the implementation of a feminist development policy, which is a priority of the BMZ. Almost half of employees in the CCI sector are women but they often work under precarious conditions.

In October 2018, the South African government held a high-profile Jobs Summit. In addition to acknowledging the challenges of the high South African unemployment rates overall, President Ramaphosa mentioned the importance of job creation for youth (15 – 34 years old) and women specifically. Statistics South Africa Quarterly Labour Force Survey (2018) showed that unemployment rates amongst young people have reached 39.3%. The figure is even higher for young black African women who are attempting to enter the labour market (45.9%).

Jobs entry conditions are tough for disadvantaged youth in a tight labor market. South African employers prefer to hire employees who have at least completed a secondary school education and one year of work experience. Yet, over 47 percent of South Africa’s unemployed youth have education levels below secondary (termed “Matric” in South Africa) level education and most youth have not held a job.

Angola is at a critical juncture and a multi-sectoral strategy is needed to stimulate job creation that will help build the economy and future prospects for young Angolans, while more deeply engaging youth and increasing productivity in the short term. Job prospects are limited and although youth are better prepared for the labor market than adults, they are still vulnerable and face multiple constraints. The existing portfolio of Active Labor Market Programs offer few programs that are appropriate for the most vulnerable youth.

This report places the notion of social inclusion in an analysis of Africa’s achievements and challenges. Its interdisciplinary approach uses evidence to bring empirical weight to issues that are often debated through advocacy and contestation.

This note provides an overview of labor markets and job outcomes in the Horn of Africa. It provides an overview of issues related to jobs in the five countries of the region, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. It first discusses labor market characteristics, notably labor force participation, unemployment and underemployment,as well as demographics of the labor force. Secondly, it compares employment patterns, focusing on the type and sector of employment. Finally, it looks at the limited information available on jobs outcomes – notably, wage levels.

This World Bank report draws on data from the most recent Nigeria General Household Survey to makes five critical contributions towards improving gender inclusion in Nigeria: (1) highlighting the gender gaps in labor force participation; (2) documenting the magnitude and drivers of the gender gaps in key economic sectors; (3) diving deep into three contextual constraints: land, livestock, and occupational segregation; (4) measuring the costs of the gender gaps; and (5) offering policy and programming recommendations of innovative options to close the gender gaps.

This World Bank report incorporates youth aspirations and employment module of High-Frequency Phone Surveys (HFPS) into multi-topic household surveys to present the differences in education and career aspirations across Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Malawi. The data collected is nationally representative, and age distribution is similar across countries. Understanding the aspirations and goals of the youth is expected to lead to the development of effective employment policies.