IMF Working Papers

Africa's Got Work to Do : Employment Prospects in the New Century

Author/Editor:

Louise Fox ; Cleary Haines ; Jorge Huerta Munoz ; Alun H. Thomas

Publication Date:

October 1, 2013

Electronic Access:

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Summary:

Estimates of the current and future structure of employment in sub-Saharan Africa (2005–20) are obtained based on household survey estimates for 28 countries and an elasticity-type model that relates employment to economic growth and demographic outcomes. Agriculture still employs the majority of the labor force although workers are shifting slowly out of the sector. Sub-Saharan Africa’s projected rapid labor force growth, combined with a low baseline level of private sector wage employment, means that even if sub-Saharan Africa realizes another decade of strong growth, the share of labor force employed in private firms is not expected to rise substantially. Governments need to undertake measures to attract private enterprises that provide wage employment, but they also need to focus on improving productivity in the traditional and informal sectors as these will continue to absorb the majority of the labor force.

Series:

Working Paper No. 13/201

Subject:

Agricultural sector Agriculture Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Cross country analysis Djibouti Employment Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon Gambia, The Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Industry Kenya Labor force Labor markets Lesotho Liberia Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Private sector Public employment Rwanda Senegal Services Seychelles Sierra Leone South Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Uganda Wages Zambia Zimbabwe