Grapevine

Youth unemployment: Northern and Eastern regions struggle most

Bukedi, Lango, Busoga, and Karamoja sub-regions have the highest percentage of the youth population not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEET), while Kigezi and Ankole have the lowest percentage, indicating disparities in access to public/social services and job opportunities.

This information is contained in the National Population and Household Census main report released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) on Thursday last week in Kampala.

In the report, Bukedi, Lango, Busoga, and Karamoja had youth NEET rates of between 60 and 62 percent compared to Kigezi and Ankole which had the lowest rate of 39 percent. West Nile, Elgon, Teso, and Acholi had youth NEET of between 50 and 59 percent while Bunyoro, Tooro, and Buganda ranked at 40 to 49 percent.

The NEET indicator, according to information from the United Nations, is an important concept that captures a broad array of vulnerabilities among youth –touching on issues of “early school leaving, unemployment, and labour market discouragement.”

The Ubos report also shows that northern and eastern regions performed poorly in most of the socio-economic indicators such as education and access to social services when compared to the central and western parts of the country, raising questions about the effectiveness of the government’s strategies to ensure equitable development.