Africa’s young population is frequently celebrated as a major economic asset for the continent’s future, but the prevailing employment market is failing to provide them with secure, life-sustaining work, according to the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET). The Accra-based think tank released findings indicating that fewer than one in five working young people across the continent currently maintain health coverage or social security benefits. Furthermore, just over a quarter of young employees receive paid holiday leave, pointing to widespread precarious conditions in the formal and informal sectors alike.
The report underscores that roughly a third of young Africans are engaged in informal roles within the agricultural sector, where wages and protections are typically low. While macroeconomic discussions often focus on large corporations and national growth figures, ACET’s research points to smaller enterprises as more effective engines for quality employment.
Small- to medium-sized domestic firms, particularly those operating within the technology, pharmaceuticals, and construction sectors, consistently offered stronger job growth and superior employment conditions compared to their larger counterparts. These localized enterprises demonstrate a greater capacity to integrate young job seekers into meaningful roles that offer better long-term prospects.
More attention and targeted policy support need to be directed toward these high-performing domestic sectors so they can expand their capacity to absorb more young people without diluting the quality of employment benefits they offer, Mona Iddrisu of ACET noted.
