The number of young people of working age in Nepal is increasing by 550,000 a year, shows a fresh report of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

 

The Least Developed Countries Report 2013 on Growth with Employment for Inclusive and Sustainable Development released on Wednesday also states that the number will climb to 633,000 a year by 2020. 

 

In the report, the UNCTAD has recommended that the new government in the country should rethink its growth strategy to ensure that growth creates employment opportunities for the young people - who are largely under-employed, or trapped in vulnerable low-paid jobs - to improve the growth prospects of the economy.

“There should be greater policy emphasis on employment generation as a central development objective,” the report added.

 

The report also cautions that international migration or social and political instability may rise if such policies are not adopted in time.

The report also states that Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including Nepal, will face a stark demographic challenge, as their combined population - about 60 per cent of which is currently under 25 years old - is projected to double to 1.7 billion by 2050. 

 

“During the rest of the current decade, such poor countries would have to create around 95 million jobs to absorb new entrants to the labor market, and another 160 million in the 2020s. By 2050, one in four young people worldwide will live in an LDC,” the report states.

 

The report calls for a break with “business as usual” policies, and a shift toward policies aimed at spurring inclusive growth and the creation of more and better-quality jobs. 

The report cautions that while LDCs enjoyed relatively high gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates from 2002 to 2008, this economic progress did not translate into correspondingly increasing levels of employment. 

 

According to report, countries with faster GDP growth created relatively fewer jobs. However, economic growth which does not create decent jobs in sufficient quantity is unsustainable; and job creation without the development of productive capacities is equally unsustainable.

 

The report says that the 49 least developed countries, a category which includes Nepal, should take steps to improve GDP growth via employment generation and investment to develop productive capacities.

 

UNCTAD has been emphasizing that improving productive capacities is the best and most stable long-term strategy for helping nations and peoples to escape poverty. 

According to the report, agriculture accounted for 71 percent of total employment in Nepal, down from 75 percent in 2000. Similarly, industry accounted for 12 percent, an increase of 2 percentage points over the figures of 2000. Services sector accounted for 17 percent of employment, up by 2 percent points compared to data of 2000.