Tunisia

Committee: ILO (International Labour Organisation)

Conference

YOUTH
UNEMPLOYMENT &
ECONOMIC
GROWTH

SM9411BNN01
Student ID: W20013158
Word Count: 734
The development of a social industrial and mobile society, in which residence and workplace
are gradually separated, is profoundly related to the idea of the labour market area (Smart,
1974). The transfer of youth from the school system to the labour market is one of Tunisia's
most important concerns (Haouas et al., 2012). Furthermore, figures (Appendix A) indicate
that Tunisia's youth unemployment rates have been increasing since 1999, with the lowest
rate of 27.81% in 2006 and the highest point of 42.63% in 2011. (2011 revolution). The
percentages have dropped by 6.12%, to 36.51% in 2020. (World Bank, 2020). However,
these numbers are nevertheless alarming. As a result, addressing the problem requires a
clear understanding of Tunisia's new education and training policies.

For starters, as a result of inclusive and unrestricted access to higher education, the number
of university graduates is exponentially growing. In 2000, less than 10% of the workforce had
a university degree, but this rose to 13.1 percent in 2005 and more than 16% in 2010, and it
continued to grow (Appendix B) (Boughzala, 2013). Tunisia's population, on the other hand,
are also not only socially deprived, but still economically marginalised. Ben Sedrine (2009)
provides a further reason for unemployment by graduates of higher education. First, the
school system has tended to train indirectly for the public sector, which awards college
degrees even though they no longer improve competitiveness. Second, the non-wage public
sector's advantages, such as career stability and paid days off, continue to entice job
seekers. These applicants are more likely to enrol in a long-term programme in order to
become a professional or to abandon their private-sector careers in order to qualify for
government employment (Sedrine, 2009).

Furthermore, the lack of sufficient job growth represents one of the Tunisian labour market's
structural shortcomings, resulting in a constant, even rising, supply-demand gap on the
labour market (Boubakri et al., 2010). The current imbalance between the educational
system and labour skill demand is highlighted by unemployment among skilled youth.
Tunisia is ranked 95th out of 137 countries in terms of overall productivity, according to the
Global Competitive Report (2017). Tunisia's labour market, on the other hand, is ranked
135th out of 137 countries in terms of labour productivity, though it has improved in recent
years (2019), ranking 133rd (Schwab, 2017). They may have diplomas, but they lack
professional knowledge when it comes to the skills gap. Tunisian universities, for example,
have created hundreds of engineers with a background in math and technology, but
recruiting managers in Tunisia's industrial and engineering companies favour applicants with
prior expertise in advanced technological jobs (Bohlander, 2013).

Actual GDP contracted by 8.8% in 2020, after rising by 1% the previous year, as a result of
the general downturn in economic growth and the tightening of borrowing conditions aimed
at combating inflation. Output dropped in every sector except agriculture and fishing (World
Bank, 2020). GDP growth will accelerate to 3.8 percent in 2021 and stabilise at 2.4 percent
in 2022, according to the IMF's revised April 2021 projection (Appendix C), subject to global
economic recovery following the pandemic (Export Entreprises SA, 2021). Nonetheless, the
Tunisian economy is characterised by high unemployment.  

The local economy is dominated by utilities, which account for 61.7 percent of GDP and
include booming industries like tourism. 54.8 percent of the country's population is employed
in the service industry. The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant effect on higher education.
The closing of international borders in March 2020 resulted in a 30% drop in tourism
revenues. Because of the complete lockdown in April 2020, all international tourist bookings
were cancelled, resulting in an estimated 80% decline in Tunisia's tourism market. This may
have an effect on the job rate (Export Entreprises SA, 2021).
Instead, in recent years, IPF programmes have focused on addressing the country's most
urgent challenges, such as developing job opportunities in inland areas, concentrating on
children, and using technologies to solve service delivery failures. The World Bank expects
to complete four projects in Fiscal Year 2021, one of which is the Tunisia Economic
Development Corridor Project (Investment Project Financing, US$200 million) (World Bank,
2020). In Tunisia, the YEM joint initiative focused on improving national and regional
capacities for developing, implementing, organising, and tracking regional employment and
migration policies and programmes, strengthening links between Tunisian institutions and
youth movements, and encouraging innovative entrepreneurship and job creation initiatives
(MDG Achievement Fund, 2013). 
 References

Ben Sedrine, S. 2009. La Tunisie. In Labaki, B. (Ed.), Enseignement supérieur et marché du

travail dans le monde arabe. Beyrouth: Presses de l’Ifpo. doi:10.4000/books.ifpo.771

Bohlander, M. (2013, November 18). The Youth Unemployment Crisis in Tunisia. Retrieved
from Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE):
https://www.cipe.org/blog/2013/11/18/the-youth-unemployment-crisis-in-tunisia/
#:~:text=Youth%20unemployment%20in%20Tunisia%20is,of%20social%20and
%20political%20development.

Boughzala, M. (2013). Youth employment and economic transition in Tunisia. Washington,

DC: Brookings Institution.

Export Entreprises SA. (2021, April). The economic context of Tunisia. Retrieved from
Nordea Trade:
https://www.nordeatrade.com/no/explore-new-market/tunisia/economical-context

Haouas, I., Sayre, E., & Yagoubi, M. (2012). Youth unemployment in Tunisia:
Characteristics and policy responses. Topics in Middle Eastern and North African
Economies, 14.

MDG Achievement Fund. (2013). Youth Employment and Migration Country Brief: Tunisia
[Fact sheet] International Labour Office (ILO).
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ed_emp_msu/documents/
publication/wcms_219632.pdf

Schwab, K. (2017). The Global Competitiveness Report 2017–2018. Geneva: the World
Economic Forum.

Smart, M. W. (1974). Labour market areas: uses and definition. Progress in planning, 2,
239-353.

World Bank. (October 15, 2020). Tunisia: Youth unemployment rate from 1999 to 2020
[Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved April 27, 2021, from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/813115/youth-unemployment-rate-in-tunisia/

World Bank. (2020). Tunisia Economic Monitor, Fall 2020: Rebuilding the Potential of
Tunisian Firms.
 Appendices

Appendix A: (World Bank, 2020)

Appendix B: (Boughzala, 2013)

Appendix C: (Export Entreprises SA, 2021)