MORE unemployed youth could become vulnerable to drugs and crime if Fiji’s economic growth does not translate into meaningful jobs for young people.
World Bank Country Economist for Fiji Naomi Mathenge raised the concern yesterday, warning that youth unemployment and economic exclusion were not just labour market issues, but social risks that the government and private sector need to address now.
She said the latest Pacific Economic Update revealed many youths in Fiji were not fully connected to work or education, and that can damage their future earning power.
“The risk of not having these people employed is that it has a negative connotation in the social contract between the youth and the government.
“Because then you have these educated youth, they need jobs, but they’re not seeing the output in terms of job creation,” she said.
Ms Mathenge said Fiji needed to pay closer attention to whether growth was creating real opportunities for young people, particularly educated youths entering the workforce.
She said the danger was that unemployed young people, stripped of dignity and purpose, could turn to whatever was available to keep themselves occupied.
Ms Mathenge linked this to concerns over drug use, saying young people needed meaningful ways to remain active and economically included.
“And that’s why we are seeing this rise in drug use because they need to be kept active.”
She said the issue was especially important because Fiji had an opportunity in the next decade to benefit from its youth population, but only if jobs were created.
Without that focus, she warned, more young people could be pushed towards harmful activities as a result of unemployment, frustration and lost dignity.
