An Analysis of the Unemployment in Selected MENA Countries and Turkey (Other Papers) (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Despite strong global economic growth in 2006, the global unemployment rate remained unchanged from the previous year at 6.3 percent. According to the International Labour Organization, in 2006, there were more people in work than the year before, but at the same time there were also more unemployed people than in 2005. "The number of unemployed remained at an all time high of 195.2 million in 2006." (1) Moreover, half of the unemployed people around the world are young people. The young people ate three times more likely to be unemployed than adults, "with 86.3 million young people, in 2006 representing 44 percent of the world's total unemployed." (2) Furthermore, recent trends in the labor market ate worrisome. If current trends ate maintained, the employment prospect for the future does not look bright. (3)