africa

Africa at a Fork in the Road: Taking Off or Disappointment Once Again?
Table 9.4: Working Poor Indicators, World and Regions (US$2 A Day),
2000-11
Source: ILO (2012).
Note: 2011 figures are preliminary estimates.
At the global level, changes in the number of the ultra-poor (those earning below
US$1.25 a day) show a distinct redistribution of the working poor from East Asia
and Southeast Asia and the Pacific to South Asia and SSA. Today almost a third of
the world’s working ultra-poor reside in SSA, up from 18 percent in 2000 (Bhorat,
2013a). Thus, though the proportion of the working poor in total employment in SSA
has been gradually improving since 2000, the problem of the working poor remains
the fundamental jobs challenge problem in the region.
The nature of Africa’s jobs challenge implies that:
• First, because agriculture is so central to the average African economy, policies
designed to grow this sector and increase its global competitiveness are essential
to reduce the incidence of working poverty.
• Second, large swathes of predominantly young people are entering Africa’s
fast-growing cities in search of employment. The majority end up in urban selfemployment.
Making the informal sector a more sustainable form of employment,
creating linkages to the formal sector, and providing an enabling business environment
for the informal sector to thrive is essential to meet the jobs challenge.
• Finally, growing the currently minuscule wage employment base must be a key
growth strategy for African governments. Expanding the light manufacturing
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