More than half the countries in
Sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to have realised economic growth rates
of not less than 5 per cent, a report shows.
The
International Labour Organisation (ILO) “Global Employment Trends 2014
Report” also shows that only two countries – the Central African
Republic and Equatorial Guinea – registered negative growth.
It
notes that the current economic outlook indicates that regional growth
rates of at least 5 per cent are sustainable, provided that global
economic conditions do not weaken exports or reduce inflows of
investment and aid.
“Both investment and aid are
important as different groups of countries tend to benefit from these
financial flows,” adds the report.
Ghana
The
report says high rates of growth contributed to an improvement in some
labour market indicators with countries like Ghana realising an average
annual economic growth rate of 6.8 per cent during the 2001–12 period.
It
adds that the growth has continued to be solid in Sub-Saharan Africa
with GDP year-on-year growth in 2013 being estimated to be 4.8 per cent.
“This is slightly below the growth rates seen in
recent years but it is still the third fastest regional growth rate
after East Asia and South-East Asia and the Pacific,” notes the report.
It
adds that growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is also high compared to the
1990s. From 1991 to 2000, the regional economic growth averaged 2.3 per
cent annually. During the 200-12 period, it shot to 5.7 per cent.
“The
average unemployment rate in Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole during the
2001–12 period is estimated to be half a percentage point below the
1991–2000 rate,” it adds.
The report says there is a
similarity with the development of Sub-Saharan Africa as the regional
vulnerable employment rate decreased by only 2.3 per cent from 2001 to
2012.
“All other developing regions show a larger
decrease in the vulnerable employment rate despite lower rates of
economic growth than were experienced in Sub-Saharan Africa,” notes the
report.
The report adds that the vulnerable employment
rate in Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated at 77.4 per cent in 2013 – the
highest in all regions.
“Facing underdeveloped or
non-existent social protection systems, a large share of the working-age
population in the region is obliged to work to provide for their
families,” adds the report.
The report also says that
as a consequence, the labour force participation rate across all labour
market groups is estimated at 70.8 per cent in 2013, and Sub-Saharan
Africa is the only region in which the male adult labour force
participation rate is projected to rise in 2014 and 2015.
“In
many developing economies, the manufacturing sector has served as an
engine of paid employment creation but by and large, this has not
happened in Sub-Saharan Africa,” adds the report.
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