11,500 educated teenagers jobless

11,500 educated teenagers jobless

DILI, East Timor: More than 11,500 high school graduates are
currently listed as job seekers at the provincial manpower
office.

The number represents 73 percent of all unemployed people
listed by the local government, said Yosef Soesanto, chief of the
office workers' placement section, yesterday.

Their prospects are bleak because there is no indication that
the government and public sectors will have enough openings for
them in the foreseeable future, he said.

Besides, the youngsters have no particular skills to offer
prospective employers, he said as reported by Antara.

Official statistics show that in the past five years the
workforce in the former Portuguese colony has grown by an average
of 3.7 percent compared to 3.3 percent in job opportunities.

Hence, the job market has absorbed only 58,000 or about 80
percent of job seekers over the same period, he said. (pan)