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Cairo: Dina El Naggar (202) 574-1670
delnaggar@worldbank.org The challenge of job creation in MNA requires a cross-sectoral approach to reform based on a conducive investment climate, improved labor market outcomes through better education and training, and employment policies that promote equitable growth and job creation. CAIRO, December 2005 -Growth and job creation are the critical economic challenges for all countries of the MNA region. This week, ministers and policy makers from 16 countries across the region were joined by representatives from the private sector, civil society and international organizations at the 3-day MNA Regional Conference on Job Creation and Skill Development that was hosted by the World Bank Office in Cairo with support from the UK Department for International Development. World Bank estimates that, over the next 20 years, some 90 million new jobs have to be created to meet the demand of an increasingly young and educated labor force in MNA countries. Not surprisingly, governments in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MNA) have identified employment creation as the single most important development challenge over the coming decade, though the specific policy concerns may vary by country. In order to meet this challenge, the current rate of economic growth as well as the number of jobs in the region will need to double over the next two decades. "The agenda of this conference deals with a high-standing priority for MNA countries. We need to, among others, examine the relevance of the informal sector to the job creation agenda and determine how we can effectively harness the potential and resources within the sector to support our goals," stated Emmanuel Mbi, Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti in his welcoming address to participants. "We also need to assess the impact of ongoing reforms on youth capacities, opportunities and challenges as they cope with global and regional competitiveness. And finally we need to ensure that gender issues are effectively dealt with as we discuss the employment challenge," he further added. From Egypt, H.E. Dr. Mohei El Din, Minister of Investment, delivered a statement on behalf of the Prime Minister where he shared key features of the Egyptian reform program and its relevance to the job creation agenda. "To ensure the sustainability of job creation, a reform agenda needs to have a lasting impact on building human capital, creating an investment climate and capturing opportunities for equitable growth that can be offered by sound labour, social and economic policies," Minister Mohei El Din said. Labor Market Outcomes: An Expanded Agenda for MNA MNA’s labor market shares many structural features with other regions of the world. Nonetheless, MNA’s labor market dynamics vary due to many coexisting rigidities that are compounded by a rapidly expanding labor force. In addition, poor labor market outcomes such as unemployment and low earnings are driven largely by: (i) constraints in the investment climate which inhibit growth and job creation, especially in the private sector; (ii) lack of alignment between the education and training systems and the labor market, and (iii) labor market policies that reduce the flexible deployment of the labor force. Despite variations across the MNA countries, challenges brought forth by integration into the world economy are creating a significant impact on labour market outcomes. The conference agenda offered a new departure for examining labour market outcomes beyond labour issues. "We expanded the agenda to include issues that have a bearing on the capacity of the economy to create more jobs, the ability of job seekers to perform these jobs and the nature of employment programs and policies that can facilitate labour mobility as the economy adjusts and creates winners and losers," said Mr. Christiaan Poortman, Vice President for the MNA region in his concluding statement. "This high level representation from the MNA region offers opportunities for the formulation of a comprehensive development program where the Bank can be of assistance in moving this critical agenda forward," he further added. Understanding Regional Labor Markets Characteristics and Policies In a Roundtable Discussion, Ministers of Labour, Education, Economic Policy, Planning and Finance, Industry, Social Affairs, Education and Higher Education/Training from MNA countries presented their experiences within the scope of global and regional economic and labor market trends. An analytical framework for looking at current labor market dynamics, unemployment, job creation and skills development was introduced. The discussion focused on the review of a number of issues within the regional context (i) the manpower planning debate and comparison with labor market analyses; (ii) the informal sector in MNA region; (iii) the role of migration in regional labor markets; (iv) the specific case of labor adjustment in the face of privatization, restructuring of state-owned enterprises, and civil servant reforms; (v) the needs of women and other vulnerable groups in the labor market, such as the disabled, low-skilled, and/or young workers; and (vi) the data and measurement issues. "Experiences from different regions revealed that often labor policies are seen in isolation of other social policies that address broader issues of vulnerability and risk management. Understanding these linkages is important as some objectives are better served either by social, or by combinations of labor and social policies that supplement each other," said Michal Rutkowski, Sector Director of the Human Development Group in the WB MNA region. Setting the Stage for Job Creation: 3 Fundamental Themes: The 3-day conference set the stage for discussions among a highly diverse group of policy makers, ministers, private sector and civil society. Approaching the unemployment challenge from a cross-sectoral lens offered an opportunity for decision makers to reveal concerns and challenges relating to investment climate, institutional coordination, market regulations and quality of education. In his opening address, Dr. Mustafa Nabli, Chief Economist of the World Bank MNA region defined "three critical themes" for managing this cross-sectoral approach. "Establishing an investment climate conducive for job creation and SME development is a theme that needs to be fostered by liberalizing economic environments," he said. "The second theme relates to workforce development through education, skills and training policy in order to effectively accommodate the demand growth and deliver employable trained workers. The third theme relates to employment policies and institutions," he further added. Balancing Employment Opportunities with "Equitable Growth" Delegates shared experiences and listened to a number of presentations that introduced ideas for placing employment creation at the centre of economic policymaking, and on improving the job prospects of millions of young people who are either unemployed or underemployed to ensure "equitable growth". The employment challenge cannot be solved by one minister or agency alone, confirmed participants. A comprehensive effort involving the Ministries of Economy, Finance, Planning, Investment, Education, Labor, Training as well as the private sector and civil society including trade unions represents the solution. Yet for MNA countries, as in other parts of the world, coordination among these agencies is a challenge that needs to be effectively overcome. In most instances the Ministry of Labour is not part of the economic policy-making and yet ministers of labour are in the frontline in dealing with it. "Cross -Cutting" Conferences- A Platform for Policy Dialogue Over the past few years, the World Bank has been actively engaged in policy dialogue and providing technical advice to several MNA countries. In a region featuring a diversity of economies and priority agendas whether among the GCC, middle income or the relatively lower income countries, national and sub-regional agendas vary. Demand on the "Knowledge Bank" across MNA is growing and the timing is opportune for fostering cross-cultural themes to exchange experiences and draw upon lessons from other regions. The first series of regional flagship reports released in 2003 on unemployment, gender, governance and trade created a significant level of interest among policy makers and paved the way for many economic reforms that need to be implemented. As the Bank prepares to launch two additional flagship reports on education and water, the region is experiencing a transition that fundamentally hinges on its capacity to build cross-sectoral networks that would ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of these reforms and foster principles of public accountability and equitable growth. For more information about the World Bank’s work in Egypt, please visit http://www.worldbank.org/eg |
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