The Federal Urban and Job Creation and Food Security Agency said that some 870,000 jobs have been created during the first half of the current budget year through coordinated and consolidated efforts of all stakeholders in the sector.
Approached by The Ethiopian Herald, Agency Director-General Gebremeskel Challa noted that the performance is surpassed of the plan by 70,000 jobs. The harmonized support and monitoring Jobs Creation Commission (JCC) has provided to the Agency is constituted the major factor for the success.
As to him, 61 percent of the created jobs are permanent one, and about 600 thousand have been created through the formal recruitment process by the agency in collaboration with different public and private organizations.
Additionally, the agency is making different studies in a partnership with different institutes; including the JCC and the National Bank of Ethiopia in order to assure the success of the sector through creating sufficient job opportunities for the entire community nationwide.
“Unless the government gives due attention for the sector, different political, economic and social challenges would be happened in the country. Therefore, as a federal level, we are working exhaustively in order to reduce number of jobless citizens, particularly the urban youth.”
Meanwhile it was recalled that JCC Commissioner Nigussu Tilahun affirmed creating job for the citizenry is government’s top priority in a joint discussion forum on the commission’s six-month plan performance review held Arba Minch town of the South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State this week,
Noting that the commission has created 2.4 million job opportunities from its plan of 3 million in the last fiscal year, Nigussu indicated that the plan requires more diligent works to attaint it in the current fiscal year.
He also explained that the commission has made a lot of tasks in order to overcome challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has posed in efforts to create more jobs to the youth. The commission has made different tax reduction and postponements, financial support and other different assistances for micro enterprises.
The commissioner also stated that his office is targeting on enterprises to create a substantial job opportunity for the ever-widening younger generation.
According to the data obtained from the JCC, there are more than 1.6 million licensed enterprises are currently operating in the country. In January 2020 alone, about 18,800 licenses have been granted, it was stated.