Working Paper 27 examines Malawi’s challenging employment landscape, focusing on the country's rapidly growing youth population. Using three rounds of the Integrated Household Survey, carried out between 2004 and 2016, the authors found little evidence of a structural transformation in Malawi’s economy or of youth benefiting from changing patterns of employment. While the share of employment in agriculture in Malawi rose slightly during this time, the share of full-time jobs inside agriculture declined. Most Malawians continue to spend their entire working lives in the agricultural sector, the sector in which most Malawians first obtain employment. This paper provides evidence that it is only later in their working lives that Malawian workers, particularly males, are poised to obtain employment outside of agriculture alone. The authors also find that youth are not participating in the limited growth that has occurred in the services sector. Malawi’s challenging employment landscape for youth is characterized by a scarcity of jobs outside agriculture and insufficient work hours within agriculture.
Authors: Bob Baulch, Todd Benson, Alvina Erman, Yanjanani Lifeyo, and Priscilla Mkweta.
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