TITLE

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON

DEVELOPMENT IN YEMEN

ABSTRACT

Youth unemployment in Yemen, affects their development as well as their input to the
development of the state. There are different types of unemployment, ranging from
cyclical, frictional, systemic, political and structural which illustrates causes of
unemployment. Unemployment occurs when any of the factors of production are not
employed or fully utilized, in creation of goods and services. Despite all the efforts
employed by the government, to eradicate the vice, unemployment and especially
among the youth continue to persist and this has serious repercussions on self-esteem,
poverty eradication efforts, social stability and equity. This study will investigate the
nature of unemployment among the youth in Yemen, examining the effectiveness of
the measures put in place to combat youth unemployment in Yemen and evaluating
the challenges faced in addressing youth unemployment in Yemen. Further,
unemployment in Yemen is a huge jeopardy to development and it leads to social
problems such as crime. Most of the youth with the capacity to work have not been
adequately given the opportunity to get productive. However, the high youthful
population if adequately empowered can enhance economic growth. There is need to
carry out reforms on the education systems for economic growth of the country.
Trainings should also be conducted based on the immediate need of the society. There
is need for harmonization of policies, so that government initiatives can have a unified
theme in addressing youth unemployment.
Introduction
Yemen’s adolescent & young adult population (aged 15-24) is currently facing a
crippling problem that will endanger the future of the nation. youth unemployment is
on the rise in Yemen and it comes with huge economic challenges that lead to slow
economic growth of the state. The global rate of unemployment indicates high levels
of unemployment among the youth. In fact, the rate of growth of unemployment
among the youth population is higher that the case of adults (Alanana, 2013).

The reported incidence of youth unemployment is even higher in developed

economies as compared to emerging and developing economies. This is because
according to Alanana (2013), the numbers of the youth population is increasing at an
alarming rate as compared to the rates at which job opportunities are being created.
The case of unemployment among the youth in Yemen is alarming and is currently a
threat to social-economic stability and peace.

Unemployment remains at a high level and continues to dominate news headlines in

both international and national development talks. Many discussions revolve around
the topic and specifically among the youth who are literate and with career prospects.
This research will seek to examine the dynamics of youth unemployment and its
implications on development in Yemen. This chapter will cover background
information relating to youth unemployment, definition of youth, development and
empirically established aspects on implications of youth unemployment to
development from local perspective. It also covers the problem statement, which
informed the decision to carry out the research, literature review, theoretical
framework, research objectives, research questions, research methodology and
justification of this research.

Problem statement
Generally, the rate of youth unemployment in Yemen is very high. However, the rates
of unemployment among the youth are incomparable to the older male working
population in the country. Achieving full employment is considered one of the
essential components of realizing the economic objectives of a nation. Employment
rate is considered a key measure of a country’s economic performance. In Yemen,
almost all political manifestos promise to eradicate unemployment and particularly
youth unemployment. However, the country faces significant unemployment levels
with young people being the most affected. This continues to persist despite several
attempts by stakeholders to address the unemployment among the youth.

Unemployment has brought poor health, increased dependency, lack of adequate

income, rural-urban migration, social isolation, loss of self-confidence and esteem,
depression and increased divorce cases, all which affect development. Some of the
measures adopted have not addressed the implications that unemployment among the
youth causes on development. Studies will conducted in Yemen intended to enlighten
the policy makers on the impact of youth unemployment and the general causes and
factors contributing to this problem. This study addresses youth unemployment and its
implications on development, to inform the policy makers and the government, on
what needs to be done, based on the social and economic impacts unemployment has
inflicted on the young people.

Research Questions
The study seeks to answer the following questions:
What is the nature of unemployment among the youth in Yemen ?
How effective are the measures put in place by the government to combat youth
unemployment in Yemen ?
What are the challenges in addressing youth unemployment Yemen?

Objectives of the Study

This research study will be guided by the following objectives:
The general objective of this study is to establish the effects of youth unemployment
and its implications on development in Yemen.
The specific objectives of the study are:

• To investigate the nature of unemployment among the youth in Yemen.

• To examine the effectiveness of the measures put in place to combat youth

unemployment in Yemen.

• To evaluate the challenges faced in addressing youth unemployment in

Yemen.

Justification of the Study

This study will provide policymakers, government agencies and the private sector
with some information on social-economic and political costs of youth
unemployment. This will help in solving the current situation of unemployment, by
creating jobs and more opportunities in the labor market. They will also use this
information to inform policy, as far as youth unemployment is concerned.

The study will contribute to the existing literature on youth unemployment in Yemen,
by providing useful research information to academicians, who wish to understand in
depth, the implication of youth unemployment on development.

This study avails useful information and recommendations to the general public in as
far as youth unemployment and development is concerned. The information will help
them understand the effects of the vice, in order to take the necessary steps of
eliminating or dealing with its pressure. It will also act as advocacy for unemployed
youth in Yemen.

Research Hypothesis

• H1: The measures put in place by the government of Yemen to combat youth
unemployment in the country are effective.

• H0: Unemployment in Yemen has no implications on development

Literature Review
According to the World Bank (2018), Yemen, the highest unemployment rates in the
Arab world by 2018, the unemployment rate was at about 60%. However, in some
other Arab countries such as Palestine and Libya, which have unemployment rates of
29% and 20 %, respectively.

For the development of an effective gap analysis, this study will analyze several
previous imperial investigations and authentic statistics on unemployment among the
youth in Yemen. The literature reviewed in this study will be sourced from credible
sources such as national and international newspaper sources that cover Yemen,
government publications and other academic journals to ensure that the process of gap
analysis is founded on a comprehensive, valid, sound and reliable set of data. The
study will focus on most recent studies and publications dating back to a maximum of
7 years ago to ensure the data used in the study represents the most recent situation as
far as unemployment among the youth is concerned.

This section covers theoretical and empirical literature review. The objective here is
to bring out what previous researchers have done and explore their perceptions in
relation to youth unemployment implications to development. The theoretical
literature also examines the key debates in as far as youth unemployment and
development is concerned.

Research Methodology
This section discusses the research methodology that was adopted for the study. This
includes; target population, research design, sampling design, and sample size,
procedure for data collection and data analysis as well as data collection instruments.
The procedures and measures that will be taken to guarantee validity of the study are
also explained in this section.
 Qualitative research involves the use of a subjective inquiry into the survey
questionnaire, which is necessary to establish a base for analysis to include
meaningful words, observations, stories, individualities, and chromatic renders with
minimal consideration of the number of participants (Higgs & Cherry, 2013). This
approach will enable the investigation and examination of the youth unemployment
issue with a small sample population, and hence allowing the investigation to proceed
with a limited budget. Furthermore, since the investigation requires a deeper analysis
and explanation on the links between implications on development and
unemployment among the youths, the use of qualitative methodology will allow the
study to analyze the objectives effectively.
The data will be collected from each participant of the sample population-using
interview questions derived based on the objectives identified in the introduction. The
data will be coded by linking a number (1, 2, etc.) to each survey response question.
The investigation will collect data via semi-structured interviews. After data,
collection is the analysis process. The analysis will be based on the observer’s
impression as the main analysis technique. The use of observer’s impression has been
proven simple and effective in producing in-depth analysis (Higgs & Cherry, 2013).

Ethical statement
Generally, this study will observe all the ethical requirements in all the processes of
data collection and analysis as is expected under an Internal Review Board (IRB).
Some of the factors that will be considered include protection of participants’ privacy
and confidentiality.

Research Design
Research design refers to a plan, structure and strategy used in investigation to get
answers to the research questions and ensure consistencies. Mixed method will be
used that combines both quantitative and qualitative research design was used to
gather, analyze and present information.

Data Collection Procedures and Instruments

Both primary and secondary data will be used to generate the information. The
researcher will obtain secondary data from official documents, periodicals, policy
papers journals, magazines, reports newspapers and other published literature. The
objective was to collect efficient and effective information to respond to the state of
unemployment in the area of study. This study will use questionnaires and interview
guide, which will administered to different respondents to obtain primary data.
Conclusion
From the above introduction, it is evident that unemployment among the youth in
Yemen is a major social and economic issue in the country. This study will provide
an examination and render a conclusion to the notion of the assertion that
development contribute to the reduce levels of unemployment. This will expand the
current knowledge on the issue of youth unemployment and hence allow policy
makers to have a better understanding of the issue for effective policy development.

References
Alanana, O. O., Youth unemployment: some implications for the third Millennium,
Global Journal of Social Sciences, 2 (1), 21-26. 2015.

Bakare, Bilikis. “Addressing youth unemployment.” Business Day |. 2014 (accessed

November 21, 2014).
Higgs, J. & Cherry, N., Doing qualitative research on practice’, in Higgs, J., Horsfall,
D. & Grace, S. 2014 (eds.), writing Qualitative Research on Practice, Rotterdam,
Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Kerlinger, F. (2006). Foundations of Behavioral Research 3rd Ed. New York City:
Rinehart and Winston ISBN.

F., J. “Why is youth unemployment so high?.” The Economist. 2013. why-youth-

unemployment-so-high (accessed November 21, 2013).
Damilola, Saanu. How to tackle youth unemployment. 2013 (accessed November 21,
2013).