Briefing Paper

Support Programmes for Youth Employment and Employability in the Growth Sectors in Senegal

The situation of young people on the labour market remains worrying in Senegal. Although the country had a real GDP growth of over 5% per year between 2014 and 2019, it still has not created enough jobs, and the quality of those created remains a worrying issue. The country’s unemployment rate remains high (20.5%). It is higher in rural areas (22.1%) than in urban areas (12.6%), higher for women (29.9%) than for men (12.6%), and highest for the 15-35 age group. More specifically, the unemployment rate is 19.5% for young people aged 20 to 24 and 17.5% for those aged 25 to 29, while it is only 10% for adults.