Study: Many youths without jobs

 A YOUTH unemployment survey conducted in six urban areas has discovered that there is a large number of unemployed youth in urban centres.

The National Youth Commission survey was conducted in conjunction with the University of PNG and the University of Western Sydney in Australia.

It stated that many PNG youth migrated into urban centres in search of employment or studies. 

Out of 318 respondents, 44% arrived in towns and cities in search for work while 33% migrated for study. 

More than half of the respondents were primary and secondary school dropouts and just over 10% had tertiary qualifications. 

Only 32% of the youth in the survey were employed, while 68% had no formal jobs. 

The majority aged between 18 and 30 agreed that most social issues came as a result of unemployment. 

Most of the youth in the survey want the government to put more emphasis on education, employment, training and social services.

The general feeling shared by youths in the survey is that young people are not happy with the general situation and the chronic unemployment issues they face. 

The survey investigated five different types of unemployment that are not fully explored by researchers in the context of PNG. 

Frictional unemployment – occurs when young people search for jobs that best suit their skills and preferences. It represents the unusual amount of unemployed resulting from people who have left jobs that did not work out and searching for new ones or young people entering or re-entering the labour workforce. 

Structural unemployment – results from a shift in the pattern of demand for goods and services or change in technology in the economy that affects the profitability of hiring workers in specific industries. 

Cyclical unemployment – is evident in PNG. 

It results from recurring depression and cyclical fluctuations in business activities and government projects. 

Technological unemployment arises due to the advancement of science and technology, resulting in intervention of labour saving machines and devices to accelerate production. 

Seasonal unemployment arises in certain periods that usually result from the reduction on demand for labour, further attributes to patterns of consumer’s habits or to variation in production associated with climate change. 

The survey was conducted from December 2011 to December 2012 by student Peter Kanaparo from the Graduate School of Management, University of Western Sydney. 

It was conducted in Kokopo, Port Moresby, Lae, Madang, Goroka and Mt Hagen.