Everyday just before dawn, dozens of unskilled Afghan laborers gather in main and crowded squares all around Kabul, desperately waiting to get a temporary job which would earn him barely one dollar a day. As employers approach the laborers, the awaiting workers race for being picked for the work of the day. Despite the generous aid of $65 billion from international community, most of Afghans still find it hard to get employed and make a living. The unemployment rate is estimated to be around 35%, and the country is still one of the poorest in the world. With 70% of its population below the age of 25, what should Afghanistan do with its unemployment problem?

Unemployment is the status in an economy where people are willing and able to work, and seeking for occupation, but failing to find jobs. Unemployment impacts national Gross Domestic Product and has a negative effect on the society. It has been scientifically proved that unemployment has severe negative psychological effects on individuals resulting to depression, lack of motivation, anger and anxiety. When individuals do not have sufficient income and their psyche is damaged, they are more likely to turn into criminal activities, and thus the crime rate in a society goes up. Employers usually hire people with work experiences, which is another disadvantage for unemployed people. This is commonly known as the hysteresis effect. Unemployment also causes detrimental changes in family relationships, often resulting to divorce and families falling apart. Scientific researches highlight that unemployment increases people’s tendency towards suicide and other acts of self-immolation.

In Afghanistan, after the fall of the Taliban in 2011, millions of Afghans rushed into gaining education and received trainings with the hope to get employed and find well-paying jobs. According to a report by Guardian, 400,000 enter the labor force each year. Yet, the economy is unable to provide jobs for this huge number of people. It is estimated that 35% of Afghans, who are able and willing to work, are not able to find decent jobs. Thus, many Afghans are gaining education while unaware that when they graduate, they may have to face unemployment. Despite the generous $65 billion aid from the international community over past fourteen years, job-seeking Afghans still find it hard to get their desired jobs. In a post-conflict country like Afghanistan, unemployment can have devastating repercussions.

Unemployment has become a deterrent for Afghan refugees to return home. In addition to that, thousands of Afghans flee the country to Iran and Pakistan for making a living. Afghanistan still has more than 3 million refugees in neighboring countries and beyond. Ironically, insecurity is not the only cause reason for these Afghans in choosing asylum over staying at home. After insecurity, unemployment is the second cause for migration of Afghans. Not only unskilled Afghan laborers migrate, but also educated and skilled Afghans, who are in search of employment and better life, migrate abroad with no prospect for returning back home.

On the other hand, unemployment has been fuelling insurgency in Afghanistan. Youths and job-seeking people join the Taliban in order to get employment. Others, send their kids to extremist Madrassas in tribal areas of Pakistan, only because they can not feed them and the Madrassas provide them food and shelter. In some insecure provinces, people choose to cultivate poppy which earns them a sufficient amount of money. The revenues from opium trafficking is fuelling the Taliban insurgency in the country. Therefore, the extensive unemployment has created various problems for Afghanistan such as brain drain, insurgency, drugs trafficking and huge numbers of Afghan refugees in other countries. It is unclear if the new National Unity Government will be successful to generate employment?

In order to enhance employment, the government needs to plan and implement extensive and dedicated programs. The government needs to support private sector and encourage businesses investing in agriculture and mining sectors. Afghanistan is an agrarian country, and has huge untapped mining reserves. As most of Afghans are unskilled laborers, they can be provided jobs by hiring them in these sectors. The government can provide facilitations to firms and businesses investing in agricultural businesses such as raising livestock, producing, processing and preserving food products as well as in mining sector. The government can promote private sector through supporting national or international small and medium enterprises and companies by easing various types of taxes and duties, providing loans, security and the critical infrastructural services. If the international firms are encouraged enough to invest in Afghanistan, and if they are ensured on low risk and good profits, the government would have achieved a huge leap in boosting employment in the country. Providing jobs for rural population would directly serve national security as many of the people joining the insurgency are from rural Afghanistan and areas with under-employment and high illiteracy rates.  As result of rapid growth and billions of aid dollars from the international community, most of the occupation opportunities created in Afghanistan were in urban areas largely in communication and banking sectors. Many of job-seeking Afghans could not get into these industries because they did not have sufficient skills to get jobs in these sectors. Elevating agriculture and mining industries particularly in rural areas into government’s top priorities will provide more jobs to Afghans, especially for those who are unskilled and living in rural areas.

In order to resolve the chronic unemployment in Afghanistan, the government needs to tackle widespread corruption and the deteriorating insecurity in the country. These two factors are main deterrents for investors interested in investing in Afghanistan. If the government makes economic development its priority, it would help resolving Afghanistan’s long-standing conflict. The government should improve infrastructure, tackle corruption, create business enabling environment and formulate encouraging laws and regulations to attract investors.

President Ashraf Ghani has studied Economics at Columbia University, an Ivy league school, which is perhaps one of the best in the world. He has worked in the World Bank, and has served Afghanistan as the minister of Economy and Finance. Ashraf Ghani has had a remarkable role in designing Afghanistan’s post-Taliban economic and national strategic development plans. Given that he is now the president of Afghanistan, he has to connect his economic and political strategies in a rational manner. Furthermore, Dr. Abdullah and his team can equally contribute in enforcing new economic strategies. If the president and the Chief Executive Officer manage to work cohesively together put their differences aside, Afghanistan will definitely take a major step forward in economic development and tackling the unemployment problem in the country.