世界发展银行-Mozambique-Jobs-Diagnostic---Volume-2---Jobs-Strategy-Policy-Note_62页_1mb

Summary of Mozambique Jobs Strategy Policy Note

Core Content

This document outlines the Mozambique Jobs Strategy Policy Note, part of the Let's Work Partnership (LWP) initiative, which aims to support private sector development in sectors with potential to create good jobs, especially for the poorest and excluded groups. It is based on a comprehensive review of previous diagnostics and studies, including the Mozambique Jobs Diagnostic (2018), value chain studies (2019), and the Mozambique Agricultural Aggregator Pilot (MAAP) project.

The report highlights two transformative opportunities for Mozambique to accelerate poverty reduction:

1. Resource inflows from the extraction of LNG and other minerals
2. A demographic dividend due to the rapid expansion of the working-age population

However, to fully capitalize on these opportunities, Mozambique must address key challenges related to inclusive growth, labor productivity, and job quality. The current growth model has not translated into faster poverty reduction, and inequalities have risen, particularly in urban areas. The Gini coefficient stands at 0.54, indicating high inequality in the region.

Main Challenges

The report identifies five strategic pillars for a jobs strategy in Mozambique:

1. Strengthening Macroeconomic and Public Sector Management

• Ensuring macroeconomic stability and effective public financial management (PFM) is crucial for supporting job creation.
• Addressing fiscal constraints and debt risks, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely impacted the economy.

2. Boosting Job Creation in the Formal Sector

• Improving economic competitiveness to attract more investment and create formal jobs.
• Enhancing labor market performance with stronger social protection systems.
• Accelerating MSME growth and fostering linkages between them and the broader economy.

3. Boosting Job Productivity in Traditional Sectors

• Expanding access to finance for small-scale producers and businesses.
• Improving access to productivity-enhancing agricultural technologies and inputs to increase efficiency in farming.
• Enhancing public infrastructure to support rural and urban development, particularly in agriculture.

4. Ensuring Adequate Human Capital and Skills Development

• Strengthening secondary schooling to improve education outcomes.
• Improving TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) and increasing investment in life skills and socio-emotional skills (SES) to better align with labor market needs.

5. Fostering Greater Job Inclusiveness

• Increasing women's participation in the labor force to leverage their potential and reduce gender gaps.
• Improving geographic connectivity to ensure that job opportunities are accessible to all regions, especially rural areas.

Key Information

• Employment Trends:

  • The share of the labor force in agriculture has declined from 87% in 1996 to 71% in 2014.
  • The share of wage-based, formal employment has increased from 10.6% to 16.3% of total employment.
  • 500,000 workers enter the labor force annually, necessitating faster structural transformation to meet future job demands.

• Demographic Dividend:

  • Mozambique is in the early stages of demographic transition, with a rapidly growing working-age population.
  • This creates an opportunity to reduce poverty, but only if enough wage-based jobs are created and labor productivity is improved.

• Structural Transformation:

  • Accelerating the shift of labor from low-productivity agriculture to more productive industry and services sectors is key to inclusive growth.
  • Improving labor productivity through investment, innovation, and better resource allocation is essential for better-paying jobs.

• Country Comparators:

  • Cambodia and Vietnam are highlighted as countries that have successfully transitioned from high agricultural employment to more diversified sectors and wage-based jobs.
  • In Cambodia, 39.0% of the increase in nonagricultural employment was wage-based, while 7.6% was informal.
  • In Vietnam, 14% of the increase in nonagricultural employment was informal.
  • In contrast, Mozambique has seen nearly 50% of its nonagricultural employment growth come from informal jobs, which are not as beneficial for poverty reduction.

• Policy Recommendations:

  • Strengthen public sector management and fiscal frameworks.
  • Promote inclusive growth through improved labor market policies and social protection.
  • Invest in agricultural modernization and MSME development.
  • Enhance education and skills development to align with job market demands.
  • Increase women's participation and geographic inclusiveness in the labor market.

Conclusion

The report underscores the importance of accelerating structural transformation and improving job quality to ensure that Mozambique's growth and development gains are inclusive and sustainable. It provides a strategic jobs policy matrix and actionable recommendations to support these goals, particularly in the context of the ongoing economic challenges posed by the pandemic and the need for long-term planning to harness the demographic dividend and resource boom.