\n\tData from Tunisia\u2019s National Institute of Statistics indicate that \ntackling the unemployment crisis in Tunisia has eluded authorities for \nnine years because of the slow implementation of mechanisms to \nrevitalize the labor market and lack of action in that regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tThat the unemployment rate remained at the same level over the past \nnine years proves that labor market reforms have not mitigated the \neffects of austerity measures and cuts in public spending, subsidies, \nwages, fees and taxes imposed to address financial imbalances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tTunisian authorities tried to break away from the weight of the old \nlabor system, which was based on unqualified work forces. This factor, \nalong with continuous political tensions, led to increased unemployment \nrates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tThat is why international financial institutions, including the World \nBank, stepped up pressure on Tunisia to accelerate control of \nunemployment rates and increasing growth in Tunisia\u2019s weakened economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tDespite various support programs for the labor market by successive \ngovernments, many Tunisians said their conditions have worsened because \nof the rising unemployment rate, which has reached 15.3 percent. The \nunemployment rate was 11 percent in 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tOfficial statistics confirm that the unemployment gap widened in rural \nareas compared to cities and that the segment hit the hardest by \nunemployment is university graduates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tPopular and economic circles alike are trying to learn the causes that \nhave prevented authorities from achieving even the slightest \nbreakthrough in this sensitive file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tSpecialists said there are structural factors keeping unemployment \nfigures at their current levels. Such conditions will be difficult to \naddress in the absence of a clear and structured vision guiding economic\n recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tSuccessive governments since 2011 have established campaigns to promote\n formal mechanisms for creating job opportunities, such as financing \ngovernment projects in marginalized areas or encouraging young people to\n start their own businesses but those steps are progressing very slowly \nand have produced little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tThe World Bank said the unemployment problem in Tunisia cannot be \nlimited to figuring out the number of job opportunities that are \nsupposed to be created each year. This is so because employment is \nclosely linked to economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tWorld Bank Country Manager for Tunisia Tony Verheijen said Tunisia was \nrequired to achieve an annual growth rate of five to six percent to \nprovide employment opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tCurrent growth figures, however, indicate that the Tunisian economy is \nfinding it difficult to reach the two percent growth figure, which \nexplains authorities\u2019 confusion in addressing the country\u2019s chronic \neconomic crises and especially unemployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tTunisian authorities have, in recent years, adopted various measures \nand initiatives to incentivize the private sector to employ more \nuniversity graduates, given that the public sector was saturated. The \nmeasures, however, failed to achieve their goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tSome previous measures can be cited for exacerbating the problem, such \nas the wave of indiscriminate recruitments in the public sector during \nthe era of the Troika government in the three years following the \nJanuary 2011 revolution. Those measures inflated public budgets \ntremendously and the government adopted a plan to lay off employees and \nprovide them with financial incentives to create their own business \nprojects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tThere are approximately 700,000 public sector employees. How long is \nthe state capable of bearing the wages of such a large number of \nemployees?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tStatistics show that 52 percent of Tunisians work in the services \nsector, about 18 percent in the manufacturing, 15 percent in \nnon-manufacturing industries and 14 percent in the agriculture and \nfishing sector<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\tThe 2020 World Economic Forum ranked Tunisia 78th out of 180 countries \non the unemployment index. That means it is very far from achieving its \nambitions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Data from Tunisia\u2019s National Institute of Statistics indicate that tackling the unemployment crisis in Tunisia has eluded authorities for nine years because of the slow implementation of mechanisms to revitalize the labor market and lack of action in that regard. That the unemployment rate remained at the same level over the past nine years proves […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[747,8,6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n