Poverty and Human Development Report 2009 - UNDP in Tanzania

pOVertY aND hUMaN DeVeLOpMeNt repOrt 2009
central issue is not unemployment but the reliability, quality and productivity of employment. the
unemployment rate is highest among youth aged 15 to 24 years.
Table 7: Current Unemployment Rate by Age Group and Residence
(international definition)
Residence
Urban areas
(including dar es salaam)
20
Age Group
15-24 years 25-34 years 35-64 years 65+ years Total
9.3 3.0 1.0 1.1 3.7
rural 1.2 0.9 0.3 0.3 0.7
total 3.1 1.5 0.5 0.4 1.5
source: integrated labour force survey (ilfs) 2006 (nbs, 2007b)
tanzania has done well to keep the employment rate relatively constant during this decade. 10
however, maintaining this rate will require that the economy is able to generate employment for
approximately 720,000 new entrants to the labour market annually. this is feasible given that
the number of tanzanians employed grew by an average of 630,000 per year between 2001 and
2006. however, employment creation has been primarily in small informal businesses, which
typically have low earnings and productivity.
earnings are low and hours are long for most tanzanians. the integrated labour force survey
2006 found that 75% of employed people earn less than tshs 100,000 per month. the majority of
self-employed workers earn less than tshs 50,000 per month, whereas employees of parastatals
and central government earn the highest monthly incomes on average. survey data also show
that tanzanians in all occupations except agriculture and fishing 11 tend to work more than 40
hours per week. Men earn more than women across all educational and occupational scales,
and a higher proportion of females earn less than tshs 20,000 per month (nbs, 2007b).
with respect to educational attainment, over half of the labour force has completed primary
school, but one-quarter of all workers, mostly older adults in rural areas, have no formal education.
this situation is expected to improve as illiteracy among youth is declining steeply, but ensuring
greater access to quality secondary and higher education and skills training must be a top priority
so that today’s labour market entrants are equipped with the skills and qualifications in demand
in the market. the challenge of creating productive opportunities for those looking for work was
highlighted by a recent report which found that the inadequately educated workforce is among
the top 10 constraints to business in tanzania (world bank, 2007).
10 this is the case regardless the definition of employment used (international or national).
11 this may be due to seasonality of production.