Algeria takes new steps to tackle youth unemployment

2009-10-22

New government measures are in the works to cut the high unemployment rate among Algerian youth.

By Walid Ramzi for Magharebia in Algiers – 22/10/09

[File] Algerian Minister of National Solidarity Djamal Ould Abbas recently announced measures to boost young people's employment prospects.

Algeria is acting to reduce the high unemployment rate that afflicts young people, with steps that include new social benefits and government funding for public sector job creation.

One key step involves a monthly government payment of 6,000 dinars to unemployed people, especially youth, as part of wider efforts to tackle an unemployment rate officially estimated at 11%. The payments will be made to those who work on socially beneficial projects.

"The grant given to the unemployed category will enter into force soon," Minister of National Solidarity Djamal Ould Abbas told local press on Sunday (October 4th). "The beneficiaries of the new measures will be jobless people with no income, housewives without income and without any technical qualifications."

"The beneficiaries… will work for about 3-5 hours a day, as they will be employed at public establishments, such as municipalities and educational institutions," added Abbas, whose government has the overall goal of creating more than 3 million jobs over the next five years.

The new measures especially aim to cut the jobless rate among people in the 18- to 40-year-old age bracket. Particular attention is being focused on those who are poor, marginalised and who have dropped out of school.

Work opportunities are projected to span environmental protection, the maintenance of social and health care institutions, and assisting the elderly and physically challenged.

"The new system will be a transitional stage that enables… young people to enter the world of employment, which will help cut the jobless rate," Amer Sebti, a journalist specialising in economic affairs, told Magharebia.

Job training is also on the agenda, and the government intends to offer young people learning opportunities that are co-ordinated among employers, the unemployed themselves, and concerned public agencies.

The new measures, along with detailed eligibility requirements, are contained in an executive decree published in the government-issued Algerian register on October 4th. The decree also extends social benefits in certain cases, such as sickness, motherhood, workplace accidents and job-related diseases.

Many young people contacted by Magharebia voiced optimism about the new measures.

"The idea of [funding work for] unemployed people is a very positive one, because it will enable young people to receive a benefit in return for a service that is useful to society," said Mohamed, 24. "This won't make young people feel like a burden on the nation; on the contrary, they'll be providing services in return for the grant they receive."

"The [monthly payment] shouldn't be turned into an end in itself, but just a means to integrate into the world of employment, especially because this new system will give youth a temporary, rather than permanent, benefit until they find a permanent job and a stable income," said Ahmed, 34.

However, some unemployed young people who hold university diplomas criticised the new system for not including people who have had access to higher education.

"What about the young people who completed their studies and don't have any income?" said Omar, 28, who holds a BA in sociology.

From the business sector, the initial response to the new measures was positive.

"The state's allocation of a 6,000-dinar grant to unemployed people will ensure the protection of the purchasing power of impoverished people in the form of direct assistance," the general commissioner of the Algerian Association of Banks and Financial Institutions, Abderrahmene Ben Khalfa, told Magharebia.