Investigation of Unemployment Registration System in Addis Ababa: The Case of Bole, Arada and Yeka Sub-Cities

Abstract

The unemployment data record by concerned different sectors is not found to be complementing each other, and has not a uniform data base that enabling to fill the gap how many of them got job opportunities and to evaluate or to know by how much unemployment was decreased. This paper aims to investigates the current unemployment registration system in Addis Ababa especially in Bole, Yeka and Arada sub-city, And assess the unemployment data and examine the registration procedure in light of the international best practices and there after establish an integrated system of registration. The study uses mixed (qualitative and quantitative) research approach. Data collecting tool for the study are interview with officials & experts, questionnaires for secondary data and focus group discussion with job seekers. The study has identified that there is no system to register unemployment from lower level of government to upper. Employers prefer newspapers and other advertising mechanisms and also private brooking agencies rather than using central unemployment registry i.e. registry used by labor and social affairs. Challenges encountered in documentation of uniform and harmonized unemployment data were due to lack of coordination among stakeholders facilitating job creation objectives, after registration tasks are not going according to planned, there is no networking system which integrates data on unemployment from woreda to bureau levels. Thus, online networking system should be established vertically and horizontally with concerned sectors. The job seekers should have a requirement of carrying identification card while the employment process is going on shall be established.

Keywords: Labour and Social Affairs (LSA), Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE), Sub-city, Unemployment Registration System, and Woreda.