Educated Youth Underemployment Trap
Observational StudyClinical Trial
Secondary school completion in low-income urban economies frequently fails to secure full-time employment, leaving educated young adults experiencing high rates of underemployment and low weekly work hours.
Picture this
Completing secondary school in a low-income urban market is like getting a driver's license in a city with very few cars. The educational credential demonstrates formal qualification, but without direct workplace connections or job openings, the worker remains idle for most of the working week.
What the evidence says
Despite completing secondary school (13 average education years), urban young men worked an average of only 23.4 hours per week conditional on being employed, while earning approximately $210 per 3-month period prior to intervention.
- Who was studied
- Representative national benchmark sample of educated urban men aged 18+ who completed secondary school (13 years of average education) in urban Malawi.
- How
- Observational baseline survey analysis measuring weekly work hours and baseline monthly income across educated job seekers in Lilongwe, Malawi.
What to do
Combine formal secondary education completion initiatives with practical workplace transition programs to resolve structural underemployment among educated urban youth.
From the source
"Data from a nationally representative household survey shows that urban men who have completed secondary school work only 23.4 hours per week, conditional on being employed."
Employment Exposure: Employment and Wage Effects in Urban Malawi