Briefing Paper

Urban Unemployment in Addis Ababa City and Kerssa and Ego Towns in Munessa, Wereda Arsi Zone of Oromia Region: Determinants, Consequences, and Coping Strategies

Unemployment is one of the serious socio-economic problems across the globe that challenges the efforts being made towards eradicating poverty.Ethiopia has registered real GDP growth of 11.4% between 2004 and 2011(Ministry of Finance and Economic Development 2010). However, the number of jobs created by the economy for the growing labour force was not commensurate with the high rate of unemployment. The data clearly reveals the increasing trend of unemployment rate in the country. Although the proportion seems to be lower, it is indeed a serious problem in the country where there are limited social protection schemes to protect the unemployed.