With Cameroon always featuring amongst the first 50 corrupt countries in Africa, the Country’s unemployment rate keeps going up the ladder as seminars, debates, and forums are being organized here and there to seek better ways of eradicating this phenomenon. Recent statistics states that close to 30.000 people graduate from schools every year be it Secondary, High School, University, Professional Schools respectively. Out of this number only 10.000 are sure to be recruited in either the public service or private enterprises available in the country.

A survey was carried out on employment and the informal sector conducted by the National Institute of Statistics, the survey which was meant to set out measures to provide government and other stakeholders with reliable information on the employment market as well as the informal sector. The results of the survey are expected to help government formulate policies and strategies to promote employment and better absorb a good number of Cameroonians into the mainstream of the economy.

The results of the said survey on employment are quite disturbing. According to the Director of Statistics, Joseph Tedou, who spearheaded the research, unemployment rate in Cameroon stands at 9.3 per cent. In the same vein, underemployment rate was found to be 68.8 per cent. Youths of between 20 to 29 years old are the most affected. Other affected groups include women and university graduates. The latter group is swimming in an unemployment rate of 36.5 per cent. The Minister of State for Planning, Programming and Regional Development who presided at the presentation ceremony expressed worry over the results, stating that government will use them to conceive projects that will help attenuate growing unemployment in Cameroon.

He regretted that a university degree is no longer a passport for getting employment. Against this backdrop, and taking into consideration the strategic place given to employment in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) by government within the framework of the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative, (HIPC) the minister underscored the necessity to take action. This, he said could be by strengthening the purchasing power of Cameroonians so as to spur consumption. He said salary increase may not give a lasting solution to the problem, but that it was however imperative to step up salaries as contribution to solving the problem.

The results of the research portray the informal sector as contributing greatly in absorbing the unemployed. The report however states that those employed in the informal sector are poorly paid. The survey was carried out in 12 zones of the national territory. These are: the ten regions and the two big cities of Yaoundé and Douala. The final report makes three major proposals, including the necessity to build the capacity of organizations in charge of employment such as the National Employment Fund and encourage the private sector, particularly small and medium size enterprises to create more jobs. The National Employment Fund and the Beareu Emploi that were all present in the Business Forum organized by the University of Buea urge the young participants to create jobs rather than looking for them.

In all Cameroon’s unemployment stands at 30% putting the country at 173 in the world. In a country endowed with the best human and Natural Resources, its inhabitants are suppose to witness massive employment, rapid increase of Enterprises, and lots more. Ironically, the tax levied on these potential industries by the government is very alarming and these companies are being scared and unwilling to do business with Cameroon. With all these we don’t expect the Country’s employment rate to be one of the best we can think since the Private sector is not promoted or encourage to establish.