Zimbabwe has more than 2.5 million people between the ages of 15 and 34 who are not in employment, education or training (NEET). Of these, 1.5 million are aged between 15 and 24.
This was revealed in the 2022 First Quarter Labour Force Survey released last week by the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (Zimstat).
The Zimstat Report revealed that youth between the age of 15 and 24 years had a national expanded unemployment rate of 66 per cent while the national expanded unemployment rate for youths aged between 15-34 years was 57 per cent. Reads part of the report:
The expanded unemployment rate was higher among those staying in the rural areas at 53 per cent than those in an urban area at 40 per cent while the national proportion of youths (15-24) and (15-34) years who were not in employment, education or training was estimated at 52 per cent, respectively.
Experts say the high level of unemployment among youths is bad for the country as it increases the dependency ratio which slows down economic development and may also become a source of serious instability in society.
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