Ethiopia is the second most populated country on the continent of
Africa, with a high density of young people. Its economy remains largely based
on agriculture, however, in recent years, slow structural change can be seen.
Concurrently, youth education has been on the rise. Due to this phenomenon,
the educated youth are now trying to match their skills with current
employment opportunities. As a consequence, unemployment rates for the
educated youth are the highest in the country. The purpose of this study is to
investigate the developments between education and the labour market,
specifically in the case of youth, by providing a comprehensive overview of
secondary data gathered by the Ethiopian National Labour Force Surveys
(NLFS) in 1999, 2005 and 2013. The study discusses the possible effects of the
simultaneously launched Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) on the size
and scope of youth unemployment. Results show clear evidence of a skills
mismatch, resulting from the insufficient quality of education to undeveloped
markets without open internet usage. Low job creation has resulted in high
unemployment of the educated youth, especially in the urban areas. The results
from this study suggest that measures need to be taken to match education and
employment in order to sustain a highly populated country.