The young people in Uzbekistan who don’t have jobs or study make up 24% of all the youth at the age of 16-24. Unemployment is especially high among girls – 4 times higher than among boys, the World Bank has stated in a report on youth unemployment in Uzbekistan.
18 million people in Uzbekistan fall under the category of “youth” – the highest figure among the countries of Central Asia and Europe. The World Bank notes that young people in Uzbekistan face big obstacles in finding employment. In turn, this leads to high unemployment and apathy among this population group. Youth mostly complains about the lack of jobs and low demand for labor in rural areas. Also, girls and guys are often hired without registration, and the wages are much lower than expected.
The WB suggested nine measures for Uzbekistan to tackle youth unemployment: reform existing approaches to boost youth employment, increase access to start-up capital and skills to develop youth entrepreneurship, prioritize digital skills in schools and vocational training courses, expand access to education and labor market information for students and job seekers, and improve career guidance mechanisms, promote the employment and self-employment of girls (information campaigns, flexible regulation, assistance with childcare), update legislation to remove barriers to professional mobility, both between sectors and between regions, promote organized and safe labor migration abroad, disseminate information on state programs to promote employment, employers and training organizations can work together to modernize and improve vocational skills programs.
In addition, it is expected that the number of the working-age population will increase by another 12% in the next 10 years. (Uzreport/Business World Magazine)
