Youth employment under economic growth in urban Africa: school-to-work transitions in Ghana and Kenya

Takahiro Fukunishi

No 759, IDE Discussion Papers from Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO)

Abstract: The employment of youth has been a central concern in developing regions, where populations are young and growing rapidly. After the decade of economic growth, however, changes in youth employment in sub-Saharan Africa are not investigated. Focusing on school-to-work transitions, this paper compares employment performance between the senior cohort who entered into the labor market before the growth period and the younger cohorts who entered after, using data from several existing surveys in urban Ghana and Kenya. It demonstrates that the first job for young graduates is less likely vulnerable employment in Ghana and is in the industries with higher formality in the both countries. In mid-career, with experience of 2–10 years, the young cohorts earned as high as the senior cohort despite shorter experience. We found that the quality of the first job is positively associated with formality and earnings in mid-career. Young urban workers are better off on average.

Keywords: youth; employment; first job; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J13 J21 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-05
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Published in IDE Discussion Paper = IDE Discussion Paper, No. 759. 2019-05

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