Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides)- Another 2.4 million new jobs must be created every year in Africa to reach one of the UN's Millennial Development Goals by 2015. This was affirmed in a report by the International Labour Organisation “The Decent Work Agenda in Africa: 2007-2015”.
According to ILO, Africa has 368 million workers, 11.9 per cent of the world's labour force. To reach one of the Millennial Development Objectives, to eradicate extreme poverty, 11 million new jobs must be created every year but the continent at the moment creates only 8.6 million.
The report was presented at the ILO African regional meeting which opened yesterday in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. Discussion focuses on: creation of work in Africa, child labour, the question of migrants, social protection, women in business, the impact of the diffusion of AIDS on the world of labour in Africa.
In 2006, the estimated rate of unemployment in Africa was 10.3 per cent. At the regional level 9.8 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa and 12.7 per cent in north Africa.
In sub-Saharan Africa 55 per cent of those who work find it difficult to sustain a decent level of life for self and family and 80 per cent of the workers live on less than 2 dollars a day.
One of the eight Millennial Development Objectives was to halve poverty in Africa by 2015. To reach this goal economists say the African economy must grow by an annual 7 per cent. In 2005 and in 2006 its annual growth was 5.4 per cent and 2007 is expected to record a growth of 5.9 per cent. However unless it is accompanied by social measures economic growth alone will not solve the problem of poverty in the majority of African countries. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 25/4/2007 righe 29 parole 254)
