Think-tank: 7 out of 10 unemployed youth are high school, college grads

An independent research think-tank on Thursday said seven out of 10 unemployed youths were either high school or college graduates.

In a statement, Ibon Foundation said it was alarmed by the latest unemployment figures that showed almost half of the country’s unemployed were from the youth sector, or people 15 to 24 years old.

“Almost half or 47.3 percent of all unemployed were in the 15- to 24-year-old age-group as of January 2015. Meanwhile, almost a third (31.6 percent) of all unemployed were in the 25-34 age group during the same period,” Ibon said on Thursday.

Ibon said that “almost three out of 10 unemployed persons (33.4 percent) had a college education, with at least 20.4 percent actually having graduated. “

According to the latest data from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), there are 1.246 million unemployed youths.

IBON Foundation blamed the economy under the administration of Prsident Benigno Aquino III for allegedly failing to create jobs for the youth.

“Government’s refusal to implement policies that will develop the country’s domestic economic sectors and boost the potential of the labor force, such as agriculture and domestic industries, is the reason behind worsening joblessness,” the research group said.

Meanwhile, data from the National Youth Commission shed light on the gender dimension of youth employment.

In 2014, more 15- to 24-year-old males are employed than their female counterparts. Three out of 10 males or 8.79 million were employed while two out of 10 females or 5.21 million had jobs.

Some 553,706 graduated from college in 2014. RC

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