With youth unemployment across the Arab World averaging 24.9%, this should be a prime concern for Middle East business and policymakers.
This is according to a new report by consultancy Booz & Company in association with the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The report states it is the highest youth unemployment rate of any region in the world – with average spells of unemployment ever increasing. In Egypt, for example, it is nearly 34 months.
Businesses are important, the report says, for their ability to create jobs, but educational and cultural matters are also key to ensuring societies take advantage of these opportunities.
Børge Brende, WEF managing director for government relations and constituents engagement, says that while “the job creation imperative remains a global and cross-regional issue, there are challenges specific to the Arab world, which today demand innovative thinking and responses framed within the reality of the new regional context”.
The full report is available on the
WEF website.
