Abstract:
Despite numerous interventions by government and development partners, youth unemployment
has remained an intractable challenge in Ethiopia. The growth of youth unemploymentis one of
the critical socio-economic problems which Ethiopia is facing today. It creates many social
economic problems in the economy of the country. This study however aimed to identifying the
determinants of urban youth unemployment. The study adopted a cross sectional data of urban
youth unemployment problem. That was caused by socio-economic and demographic factors.
The intensity of the problem is high in urban areas in general and in Gundewoin town in particular where youth face serious challenges in getting employment opportunity. The flow of
large number of young people into Gundewoin town has paved the way for the rise of varied
social problems amongst which is youth unemployment. This study was set to assess the socioeconomic and demographic cause and emerging challenges of youth unemployment in Gundewoin town. The study was primarily based on descriptive qualitative information and quantitative data. The primary data were collected from 94 unemployed who were selected randomly,
key informants interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) were used to collect relevant information and data. The socio-economic and demographic cause and emerging challenges of
youth unemployment vary based on the age, sex, marital status, migrant status and educational
levels of youth. The econometric results suggested the need for the government to go aboard on
creating jobs opportunities and industrialization of agriculture. It also recommended that the
government should facilitate formalization of familiar employment which reduces the problem
of youth unemployment especially on skilled and educated youth and all secondary schools
should have active partnership with employers. As well as government made to increase the
availability of initial working capital, the identification of profitable (market gap) business areas and provision of practical training for urban youths to be engaged at their own business.
