Tunisia: Understanding Conflict 2012 - Johns Hopkins School of ...

economy continues to improve. Unfortunately, economic growth does not guarantee that
new jobs will become available for university graduates or the skilled labor force.
Overview of Tunisia’s Unemployment Situation
Contrary to popular opinion, Tunisia’s revolution did not stem from a lack of democracy
or the endemic unemployment crisis, but was driven by a desire to restore liberty. Young
Tunisians find many of the available jobs to be menial, with relatively low pay. While
lower wages are beneficial to an export driven economy, Tunisia has not seen and will
not see significant decreases in unemployment as a result of trade liberalization and
democratization. This is primarily due to the current instability and insecurity in the
country.
Since the revolution, industrial output dropped by 15% and tourism declined by
over 45% percent. In 2011, an additional 200,000 people have lost their jobs, which
further increased the number of strikes and demonstrations. Unemployment is
particularly high among individuals between ages 15 and 24 (30%). More than 66% of
university graduates are unemployed and typically unemployed for over 18 months after
receiving their diploma.
Many young Tunisians are frustrated that they are still unemployed after the
revolution, but begrudgingly understand that there is little the government can do to
provide jobs in the short term. On the contrary, older generations believe that the youth
have not taken their share of leadership in shaping the trajectory of both the government
and economy. Regardless, the scale and persistence of unemployment has existed prior to
the revolution, which indicates that the causes of the problem are much more complex
and dynamic.
The labor market determines the payoffs from investment in education.
Functioning labor markets allocate human capital into activities that are the most growth
enhancing for the entire country. In Tunisia, job creation in private services and
manufacturing has been declining over the past two decades. Yet this sector still accounts
for over 50% of all new jobs. The public sector accounts for 20% of all new jobs per
year. Economic growth in Tunisia stems from productivity growth within each sector,
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