BAGHDAD - IRAQ is employing too many people in government jobs and a precipitous fall in oil prices makes the situation untenable, a United Nations report warned on Sunday.
Unemployment is particularly bad among young men in the war-torn country, with males aged between 15 and 29 making up 57 per cent of the total 18 per cent of people who are out of work.
'The number of Iraqis employed in the public sector has doubled since 2005... currently providing 43 per cent of all jobs in Iraq,' said the survey compiled by the UN Inter-Agency Information and Analysis Unit. A dominant public sector, which offers secure and relatively highly paid jobs, is stifling efforts to create viable businesses offering alternative employment, it said, with entrepreneurs still struggling to obtain finance.
'The recent sharp drop in oil prices and absence of other budget sources makes this level of public employment unsustainable,' said the Iraq Labour Force Analysis 2003-2008 report. 'Full-time private employment has fallen from 25 per cent in 2003 to 17 per cent in 2008,' it added.
The UN report noted that Iraq's private and public sectors are ill-equipped to provide jobs for 450,000 new entrants into the labour force a year.
'In a climate of financial constraint caused by the drop in oil prices, public sector salaries and pensions (constituting 35 per cent of planned expenditure in 2009) will strain the government budget,' the report said.
It recommended there be a 'concerted effort' to boost the private sector in Iraq and cited inflation as among the factors that have made it difficult to start new businesses. 'High inflation has meant interest rates being maintained at similarly high levels, making borrowing for investment more expensive,' the report said.
Too few women are working also. 'Only 17 per cent of women participate in the labour force - a low proportion compared to most of Iraq's neighbours.' The Inter-Agency Information and Analysis Unit comes under the umbrella of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). -- AFP
