The unemployment rate in Côte d’Ivoire would be 2% in 2018. The elephant would be in the rare situation of full employment. These affirmations made on October 25 by the Minister of Promotion of Youth and Youth Employment, Mamadou Toure, during a meeting with the National Union of Journalists of Côte d’Ivoire (UNJCI),
have trouble convincing to see the many reactions through social networks.
Supporting his remarks, the minister estimates that the unemployment rate has followed a downward trend since 2012, from 9 to 2%. At the time, the Ministry of Employment and the International Labor Office (ILO) carried out a thorough investigation. According to the minister, 2 million jobs have been created since President Alassane Ouattara came to power.
These figures are to be compared with the estimates of the African Development Bank (ADB) in its report entitled “Economic Outlook for West Africa” of March 2012. For the African Bank, the cumulative share of vulnerable jobs and the unemployed in the labor force has peaked between 70% and 90% in Côte d’Ivoire.
The definition of unemployment according to the ILO refers to the labor force of unemployed persons looking for a job (thus enrolled in an unemployment office?) And who are available to work. The question is certainly to know the share of the informal and precarious jobs among the 98% of Ivorians who have a job.
