Two years after graduating from university, Ali Lamir, 26, spends his day sitting at a cafe in central Algiers thinking of how to get a job.
But Lamer is not alone in this situation. More than one in four Algerians under 30 years of age suffers from unemployment in a country still heavily dependent on its oil and gas exports, despite countless official promises to diversify the economy over many years .
I have been looking for a job for two years, but to no avail, "said Lamier, a graduate of the Institute of Legal and Administrative Sciences in Algiers.
Unlike Tunisia and Morocco, Algeria has made little progress in attracting foreign tourists, while investors away from the energy sector are driven by security concerns and crippled bureaucracy.
A zero-interest program, implemented 20 years ago to encourage young Algerians to start their own businesses, has not raised hopes of supporting sectors other than energy, which now account for only 6 percent of exports.
"I applied for a job in many companies, but I have only received promises," said Aziza Bari, 24, who holds a degree in economics from the University of Algiers.
Official data showed Algeria's total unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2018 was 11.1 percent, but unemployment was 26.4 percent among young people under 30, who make up more than two-thirds of the country's 41 million people.The situation is not all bleak
"The unemployment rate ... reflects weak growth outside the oil and gas sector," the World Bank said in a report. "Unemployment is particularly high among educated, young and women."
But the situation is not all bleak. The recovery in world oil prices led to a 15 percent increase in Algeria's oil and gas revenues in the first seven months of 2018 to $ 22 billion. Energy exports generate 95 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings.
Algeria is also gradually opening up sectors such as food, household appliances and mobile phones to the private sector, helping sectors outside the energy sector grow 3.1 percent in the last quarter of 2017, according to latest available data, up from 2.5 percent in the same period in 2016.
But businessmen are demanding bolder steps, including increased investment in education.
"Our country needs to accelerate the transition to a knowledge-based economy," Ali Haddad, president of the Forum of Algerian Enterprise Heads, told a conference.
However, economists remain skeptical about the future.
It will be difficult to manage jobs ... additional funds (provided by improved oil revenues) will be used to finance the government deficit and imports, "said Abdul Rahman Aya, a professor of economics.
But Lamer is not alone in this situation. More than one in four Algerians under 30 years of age suffers from unemployment in a country still heavily dependent on its oil and gas exports, despite countless official promises to diversify the economy over many years .
I have been looking for a job for two years, but to no avail, "said Lamier, a graduate of the Institute of Legal and Administrative Sciences in Algiers.
Unlike Tunisia and Morocco, Algeria has made little progress in attracting foreign tourists, while investors away from the energy sector are driven by security concerns and crippled bureaucracy.
A zero-interest program, implemented 20 years ago to encourage young Algerians to start their own businesses, has not raised hopes of supporting sectors other than energy, which now account for only 6 percent of exports.
"I applied for a job in many companies, but I have only received promises," said Aziza Bari, 24, who holds a degree in economics from the University of Algiers.
Official data showed Algeria's total unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2018 was 11.1 percent, but unemployment was 26.4 percent among young people under 30, who make up more than two-thirds of the country's 41 million people.The situation is not all bleak
"The unemployment rate ... reflects weak growth outside the oil and gas sector," the World Bank said in a report. "Unemployment is particularly high among educated, young and women."
But the situation is not all bleak. The recovery in world oil prices led to a 15 percent increase in Algeria's oil and gas revenues in the first seven months of 2018 to $ 22 billion. Energy exports generate 95 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings.
Algeria is also gradually opening up sectors such as food, household appliances and mobile phones to the private sector, helping sectors outside the energy sector grow 3.1 percent in the last quarter of 2017, according to latest available data, up from 2.5 percent in the same period in 2016.
But businessmen are demanding bolder steps, including increased investment in education.
"Our country needs to accelerate the transition to a knowledge-based economy," Ali Haddad, president of the Forum of Algerian Enterprise Heads, told a conference.
However, economists remain skeptical about the future.
It will be difficult to manage jobs ... additional funds (provided by improved oil revenues) will be used to finance the government deficit and imports, "said Abdul Rahman Aya, a professor of economics.
source
No comments