Courtesy of the Independence and AllAfrica.com
I am just curious, where did the female folk go? Does mean they are
really employed or just not counted? Someone help me here.

Malanding Jaiteh



As Unemployment Reaches Crisis Stage






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The Independent
<http://allafrica.com/publishers.html?passed_name=The%20Independent&passed_location=Banjul>
(Banjul)

January 10, 2005
Posted to the web January 10, 2005

Lamin Njie
Banjul

A Tale Of Over 35,000 Unemployed Gambians

Around the world people are prone to the acute problems of unemployment,
which has both economic and social effects on all economies, and The
Gambia without exception continues to face the blight challenges of the
problem, with over 35,000 roving Gambian youths still searching for jobs
to better their deteriorating standard of living.

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In a report acknowledged by the National Youth Policy document
1999-2008, it indicates that though it is difficult to find an exact
data on the level of employment among the Gambian youths, it can be
discerned that due to the youthful nature of the population, it is
estimated that over 35,582 Gambian youths are unemployed comprising:
32,700 males and 2882 females of the active population.

The document catalogues that the level of youth unemployment is
increasing at an alarming rate in The Gambia, as many young people after
completion of school, enter into the labour market with little or no
hope of finding formal sector employment and in most cases, without the
skills and necessary resources to be self-employed.

On the menace of drug abuse, which is snuffing out hundreds of lives,
particularly among the unemployed youths, the report indicates that the
chronicle is increasing at an unprecedented rate.

According to the policy, a survey conducted by the Department of Social
Welfare in 1996 shows that a relative number of the children used both
alcohol and harmful drugs. Although there are no figures on the
prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, among
the youths, it is believed that the incidence of the HIV/AIDS in The
Gambia is equally growing.

On the level of illiteracy, it is estimated that more than 50 percent of
the population is unable to read and write, indicating that 42 percent
of the urban male population and 68 percent of the urban female
population is illiterate, while the level of illiteracy is higher in the
rural areas where 48 percent of the male population and 76 percent of
the female population is illiterate.

This situation, according to the report, has arisen mainly due to the
inability of the majority of parents to pay fees for their children's
education, compelling most children to participate in household
livelihood activities.

Relevant Links

West Africa <http://allafrica.com/westafrica/>
Labour <http://allafrica.com/labour/>
Gambia <http://allafrica.com/gambia/>
Children and Youth <http://allafrica.com/children/>

Available enrolment data shows that the enrolment rate for females is 42
percent for lower basic schools, 37 percent for middle schools, and 29
percent for senior secondary schools.

It further revealed that approximately 432 males and 548 females, aged
between 0 and 24 are affected by various forms of disability, including
blindness, deafness, weakness, deformity, missing limbs, loss of
sensation and chromic pain, while early pregnancies among girls
constitute a major factor contributing to the high mortality rate.

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