Economy News [Archives:2002/34/Business & Economy]

184.000 person to be employed this year
An official report indicated this week that about 184.000 persons are to be employed in this year, 16.000 of them are to replace employees who were retired or dead. The report mentioned that the labor force in Yemen last year amounted to 4.3 million with an increase by 4.2% compared to the year 2000, while it is expected that the population in Yemen would to grow up to 19.6 million people at the end of this year.
The IMF, in its annual report on Yemens economy, asked the government to effect rapid reforms to broaden taxation base and reduce number of employees in government sectors. The IMF has also announced that Yemen is facing difficult challenges in diversifying economy resources, besides oil and encountering corruption, government bureaucracy inflation and the large-scale poverty problem.
Government employees are now estimated at around 415.000 after Ministry of Civil Service had cancelled more than 17.000 false positions and about 25.000 moonlighting cases.
However, the IMF has expected an increase in economic growth by 4,1 % in Yemen during this year compared to 3,3 % last year. It has also expected that consumer prices are to increase by 15,8 %, whereas last year they had gone up by 11,9 % . The IMF has also called for additional reduction of government subsidies in electricity by creating amendment in prices, but warned that such steps should coincide with measure to enhance the Social Security net, as 42% of the population are living in poverty.
Child labor, indescribable misery
The children labor in Yemen is estimated at about 2.000.000 children, the annual number of children conflict cases with law is about 35,000, handicapped children are 2.000..000 and street children number reaches 28000.
Dr. Shahida Al Baz, an expert and adviser in political economics, in charge of preparing the children protection strategy, said that there were 70.000 orphan children and those who had no families.
In a statement to Al Wahda newspaper, she said that poverty was the main factor behind the childrens misery as well as the deterioration in the economic and social conditions in Yemen.

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