7 million jobs needed in 20 years

Between six to seven million jobs, more than half of the current labour force, need to be created in the next 20 years to absorb new entrants into the labour market.

“The success of this hinges on increasing production from the extractive industries with diversified private sector-led growth in more labour intensive sectors. Unfortunately, the measures announced in the budget to solve the unemployment problem do not signal any urgency or provide any hope to the people, especially the teeming youth and university graduates who roam the streets in the urban centres across the country” the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said in its review of the 2015 Budget.

According to the policy and economic think tank, though the government itself recognizes the threat of the rising unemployment to national security, there is no concrete strategy in the budget to address this problem.

IFS expressed worry about the silence on employment creation which it said is one of the greatest challenges confronting the country today.

Presently, government has frozen employment into the public sector and non-replacement of departing employees in overstaffed areas, a situation the Trades Union Congress, and other stakeholders including economic think tanks have expressed worry about.

The Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) has recently revealed that about 300,000 graduates from the country’s universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions are presently searching for jobs in the formal market. These graduates are made of those who finished school over a decade ago that is 2005 up till today.

According to CEPA, the unemployment troubles will not improve anytime soon since government policies presently are unfavourable for job creation particularly the manufacturing sector which is the engine for job creation. This year alone, about 64,277 graduates from the various tertiary institutions have been posted to various institutions by the National Service Secretariat.

Regarding the role of the private sector in creating jobs, IFS said “no incentive is provided to support private sector firms to reduce the negative impact on consumer spending and the cost of doing business arising from the new taxes, charges and other revenue generating initiatives and policies proposed in the budget. This will lead to the creation of uncertainty for business owners and local and foreign investors.”

It added that a clear strategy to expand business firms should be targeted at increasing access to credit, access to domestic and export markets, reduced business risks and the soaring interest rates, as well as create a conducive business enabling environment including a more business-friendly regulatory environment to support the development of the private sector.

“A bold policy to provide the Ghanaian private sector with the opportunity to take over the provision of some economic infrastructure while limiting foreign participation in strategic management and/or partners with minority equity stakes will also be a welcome innovation. That way, inflation-neutral and sustainable development can happen in a fairly short period of time.”

Ghana’s midyear population hit about 27.9 million, up from the 24. Million recorded in 2012; the National Population and Housing Census said last week.

This indicates the number of people entering into tertiary education has shot up and will continue to soar. More graduates will also be hunting for jobs in the coming years.