| Country: |
Lebanon |
|
Agency: |
International Labor Organization (ILO) / Regional Office |
| Address: |
International Labor Organization (ILO)
PO Box: 11-4088
Beirut, Lebanon
Tel: 961-1 752400
Fax; 961-1 752405 |
| E-mail: |
beirut@ilo.org.lb |
| Activity Title: |
Empowering Youth Employment: Review of International Experiencesتعزيز استخدام الشباب- مراجعة التجارب الدولية
|
| Prepared By: |
Submitted at: “The Sectoral Meeting on Youth and Employment between UN Systems and the League of Arab States and its Specialized Agencies”. |
| Date: |
23-25 May, 2000, Beirut –Lebanon |
| Group: |
15-24 years |
| Objectives/Goals: |
The Study reviewed youth unemployment at the regional and international levels, and proposed some strategic applications aiming at youth integration in development. |
| Activity Title 2: |
Youth Unemployment in Lebanon
|
| Prepared By: |
Mona Chemali Khalaf |
| Date: |
1998 |
| Group: |
15-24 years |
| Brief: |
The Study addresses basically the issue of youth unemployment within the overall context of the Lebanese labor market conditions. It has proposed an in-depth analysis of the conditions prevailing in the Lebanese labor market, and associates the impact of the Lebanese civil strife that raged the country in 1975, on the socio-economic structure of the country, affecting mostly the Lebanese economy. The study was divided into four sections:
1. An overview of the Lebanese labor market;
2. The youth labor market and the factors contributing to youth unemployment;
3. Programs and policies adopted to alleviate youth unemployment:
a) At the governmental level
b) At the non-governmental level
4. Conclusions and policy recommendations.
|
| Conclusion: |
The study concluded with a number of foresights, including:
Youth unemployment cannot be examined except in the overall context of the labor market. The salient features of the Lebanese labor market could be summarized as follows:
1. The Lebanese labor force is relatively young and well educated;
2. Women constitute 20% of the labor force;
3. The service sector employs the bulk of the Lebanese workers;
4. Foreign labor is present in the market in massive numbers;
5. Migration of skilled Lebanese labor is a traditional trend, which has been accentuated as a result of the war.
The civil strife has led to an increase in the level of unemployment. Unemployment has essentially hit young people below 25 years of age and affected young women more adversely that young men. Youth unemployment has been relatively low in terms of duration for those below the age of 17, while its average is around one year for those aged between 24 and 25 years. In addition to the above, determinants of youth unemployment were defined under factors affecting on one hand, the demand for and on the other, the supply of youth labor. On the demand side, one could trace the negative impact of three variables on youth unemployment:
1. The deterioration of the prevailing macroeconomic conditions in terms of inflation, budgetary deficits and public debt;
2. The recruitment practices of employers which basically resort to personal contacts;
3. The massive presence of foreign laborers.
On the supply side, the most important factors are:
1. The population movements of Lebanese and foreigners both in and out of Lebanon;
2. The qualifications of the youth labor force: the level of education of youth is relatively good, but does not meet market needs; leading therefore to a mismatch between the demand for and the supply of labor.
The study pointed out the crucial role played by NGOs during the civil strife in Lebanon, particularly in the field of relief work. Although the transition from relief to development work is not an easy preposition, such a bridge should be crossed to enable NGOs to partake fully in the socio-economic development process.
|
| Activity Title 3: |
Minimum Wages and Youth Unemployment
الحد الأدنى للأجور وبطالة الشباب
|
| Prepared by: |
Youssef Ghalab / ILO Head Quarters Geneva. |
| Date: |
1998 (English version)2001 (Arabic version) |
| Group: |
15-24 years |
| Objectives/Goals: |
1. Review of the main outcomes of available practical and theoretical economic literatures that demonstrate the relationship between adjustments in minimum wages and youth unemployment.
2. The situation of laborers vis-à –vis minimum wages in a number of countries.
|
| Brief: |
The main subject of the Study was the relationship between youth unemployment and minimum wages. |
