International Labor Organization, Advancing the Decent Work Agenda in North Africa, Economic Research Forum

This report examines the relationship between the pace and pattern of growth and labour market outcomes in North Africa. Recent experience has shown that the relationship between job creation and the promotion of decent work, on the one hand, and economic growth, on the other, is complex and highly conditional on the growth path pursued. While it is clear that growth is often a necessary condition to promote job creation and to improve the quality of employment, it is by no means sufficient. Not only can growth be jobless, meaning that it does not positively affect employment rates, at least in the short to medium run, but it could also be associated with poor quality jobs and increased precariousness of employment.

The report includes an overview chapter that examines the relationship between jobs and growth comparatively across Algeria, Egypt, Sudan and Tunisia, followed by four country chapters looking at each country in detail. Subject to data limitations, all chapters attempt to cover the period from the early 2000s to 2019, thus describing the situation leading up to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While some of the chapters attempt to speculate about the implications of the pandemic on North African labour markets in light of their findings, a full analysis of the effects of the pandemic is beyond the scope of the analysis.