Urbanisation fuelling high unemployment: Academic

By JESHER TILTO
AN increase in the rate of urbanisation plus the lack of jobs are the two main factors contributing to the country’s high unemployment rate, says an economist.
University of Papua New Guinea School of Business and Public Policy Economics lecturer Kelly Samof told The National that while more people were entering the workforce, job opportunities were limited.
“There a variety of reasons that contribute to unemployment in PNG; two are the increased rate of urbanisation and a lack of opportunities for young people,” he said.
“Urbanisation places pressure on employment, and the urban rate of unemployment in PNG is relatively high.
“With more people entering the workforce, opportunities are scarce.”
Samof said the Asian Development Bank estimated that 50,000 young persons entered the labour market each year, but only a few thousand jobs were created. “The Education Department recently stated that out of the 29, 742 students in 2023 that applied for spaces in tertiary institutions, 19,735 did not secure places,” he said.
Samof said factors that contributed to unemployment in the country such as the lack of skilled labour, law and order issues, corruption and other social issues also need to be addressed.
“Another factor of unemployment is the lack of skilled labour which requires adequate technical training. While investment and formal business activity would provide further employment in PNG, we need to first deal with the underlying issues of law and order, corruption, poor transport infrastructure, poor electricity infrastructure and political uncertainty,” he said.
“Unemployment is a symptom of these underlying issues.
“We need to lower the poverty and improve the distribution of financial resources, to create opportunities for employment.”