The Youth Employment in East Africa: An Integrated Labour Market

Abstract

The paper provides a review of the Youth Employment Situation and Challenges in the East African, (EA) Countries. The study finds that youth employment problems are common and continu to pervade the EA economies, with disproportionately large number of young women and men exposed to long-term unemployment or short-term work in informal sector. As a result, a number of them drop out of the workforce or fail to enter successfully in the first place and become inactive. Socially disintegrated youth are particularly affected, thereby perpetuating a vicious circle of poverty and social exlusion. All East African countries may need to promote an integrated economic and eployment growth in order to reduce youth unemployment and under employment in the rural and urban areas to ultimately eradicate poverty.