Some youths from Kabul said that unemployment rate in the country is increasing and that government has failed to create jobs for the people.
They said that many youths are seeking job for the past several years and that the capital city’s roads are filled with dozens of people every morning who are looking for a daily wages job.
“Unemployment has increased. Our youths are going out of the country for working and many of them face problems on the way to foreign countries,” said Ghulam Reza, a Kabul resident.
“Insecurity is a main reason behind the high unemployment rate, because investors will not be interested to invest in Afghanistan in absence of security,” said Sayed Mir Husaini, a Kabul resident.
This comes after Faizullah Zaki, the Minister of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled, said last week that creating job opportunities was in the top priority of the Afghan government.
“Creating jobs is in the top priority of government’s plans. All budgetary units are working in this regard,” the minister said.
On December 9, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said that currently, Afghanistan has the highest number of unemployed work force in the world.
The ILO head in Afghanistan, Manzoor Khaliq, said unemployment is one of the reasons behind insecurity, insisting that if the problem of unemployment is not addressed by the Afghan government, it will create more challenges in terms of security.
According to him, findings by different organizations show the rate of unemployment in Afghanistan is between 25 and 30 percent and indicates Afghanistan has the highest number of unemployed work force in the world.
Government statistics indicate that, in addition to the current number of unemployed, about 400,000 new people enter the work force and market annually.
