Solomon Islands
There is a significant unemployment problem in Solomon Islands (SI), and the country lacks the necessary support in terms of government policies and sponsors to raise the standard of training in the country. Out of a total of working age population of about 298,000, only about 69,000, or 23% are full time or part time wage earning jobs. Of these, over 11,000 are employed in the public sector. Within the formal sector, only about 80 businesses employ more than 15 or more workers. The remaining 1,500 or so registered businesses are very small and often made up of a single self employed entrepreneurs. Moreover, in both the formal and informal sectors, there is a high level of youth unemployment, defined as young people between the age of 12 and 29 who are no longer studying and who are not employed, or who are working only intermittently and in very low-productivity positions. There is also a very significant gender difference in the workforce. There are more than twice as many males as females in paid employment while in unpaid work (the informal economy), females outnumber males by about 25 percent. Key posts in all sectors that need adequately qualified personnel have been found to be held by expatriates. Read more...