Tackling Youth Unemployment Problem

Unemployment is one of the gravest problems of the Nepali economy. The gravity of the problem is reflected by the fact that the youth of working age group (15 to 24 years) is 20, 74,000 (69.1 percent of the total labour force), according to Labour Survey 2017/18. Even among these, the highest share - 38.1 per cent unemployment - is of the age group of 15 to 24 years. Likewise, 31.1 per cent of the youth of 25 to 34 year age group is unemployed. Due to the lack of skill and experience in this age group, foreign employment has been the only alternative open to them. The number of youths taking permission for foreign employment has been increasing every year. The growth rate of GDP, resulting in more employment opportunities, is below 2 per cent per annum at present. Hence, creating employment opportunities needs to be assigned the highest priority in any development strategy.