Like most countries in the world, the country faces the problem of widespread unemployment, despite Libya having great wealth such as oil and a small population, amid the absence of accurate and official figures on its rates and percentages. What are the causes of this phenomenon and what are the proposed solutions to alleviate it?
In this regard, the founder of the Libyan Stock Market, university professor and economic expert, Dr. Suleiman Al-Shahoumi, told the “Ain Libya” network, “Unemployment data on Libya lacks a lot of credibility and reliability, because there is no one who is concerned with accurately counting the workforce and the numbers of the unemployed, such as the existence of a system to grant the unemployed or the existence of a framework that regulates the provision of opportunities for job seekers.”
Al-Shahoumi added: “Many young people in Libya are classified as unemployed and unemployed, but in reality they work in the shadow economy in Libya,” noting that “the shadow economy in Libya is very widespread, and estimates indicate that more than 60% of the private sector in Libya is a shadow economy.”
Al-Shahoumi said: “The shadow economy is an unorganized economy that is not registered with official authorities, and therefore there is no reliable data on the size of this workforce that works in the private sector within the shadow economy or in freelance work.”
The economic expert added: “There is a duality in Libya, where we find the employee working in the public sector and at the same time working in the private sector, to increase his income and improve the situation, because salaries and wages are considered very weak in light of the inflationary conditions, and therefore the young man needs to have more than one source of income.”
Al-Shahoumi continued: “The official figures indicate that there are large amounts of unemployment, but the data is unreliable in Libya, not credible and often insignificant, and therefore cannot be relied upon unless the issue of the workforce is reorganized, a framework is established for it and work in the private sector is organized correctly and soundly, so that the amount of the workforce that is in a state of employment or in a state of unemployment is actually reflected and clarified.”
Al-Shahoumi added in his statement to the “Ain Libya” network: “The conditions that Libya is going through, the political conditions, the existing administrative chaos, the weakness of institutions and the division, all lead to a kind of duplication and confusion in information and the difficulty of drawing up policies or making decisions through which the labor market can be organized appropriately, in order to reduce the issue of disguised unemployment in the public sector, and to provide a framework that creates serious job opportunities for young people through the private sector, which is relied upon in the future to attract the largest number of young people to the sector to work.”
Al-Shahoumi also spoke about the necessity of “preparing the educational system so that it is appropriate and suitable and provides outputs appropriate to the labor market and the needs of the labor market in light of the development and change taking place in the work environment and economies that have become more focused on specific requirements in technology and high technology.”
The economic expert said: “There is a need for a comprehensive review of the issue of work and the workforce, unemployment, unemployment benefits, and mechanisms to reduce the level of unemployment and increase employment rates, through a comprehensive system that precisely regulates the issue of work and the workforce.”
Al-Shahoumi added: “This reality can only come about if there is a government with clear policies in the field of manpower that serve within the framework of the country’s general economic policies and direct them towards investment, enhancing investment, creating job opportunities, improving infrastructure, and attracting foreign investments.”
Al-Shahoumi concluded by saying: “All of this is, in fact, an interconnected system, and it is very important that it operates within a framework of a state of economic stability and steadfastness in the country.”
Last update: August 15, 2024 – 07:59
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2024-08-15 14:08:38