Worryingly, unemployment and poverty remain serious challenges in certain Arab countries and with untold economic consequences. The skilled and educated — but unemployed — nationals represent a huge loss of opportunity and displacement of resources.

True, African countries such as Niger, Congo and Burundi are considered the poorest in the world, but international indicators classify Mauritania, the Sudan, Yemen, Morocco and Egypt among them. By one account, poverty rates stand at 42 per cent, 25 per cent, 19 per cent and 14 per cent in Yemen, Egypt, Iraq and Jordan.

Of the 345 million Arabs some 65 million live in poverty, representing around 19 per cent. But the actual stats are likely to be higher. Sons and daughters are not required to leave parental houses at a certain age, and hence do not have sustain themselves.

Paradoxically, the region hosts both the highest and lowest joblessness rates in the world. The unemployment rate in Qatar stands at a mere 0.3 per cent, presumably the lowest. Conversely, Mauritania suffers from an unemployment level of 31 per cent, one of the highest. Possibly, unemployment is a more serious issue in certain African nations, but there is no way of knowing without reliable data.

The average unemployment stands anywhere between 13 per cent and 17 per cent, depending on the source. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) for one puts the jobless rate in Arab countries at 13 per cent, and quotes the International Labor Organization (ILO). Yet, the figure rises to 29 per cent among youths, undoubtedly one of the highest in the world.

On its part, the Arab Labor Organization projects an unemployment rate of 17 per cent and increasing to 30 per cent among the young.

If anything, the unemployment dilemma has only exacerbated in recent few years on the back of the extraordinary crises gripping some Arab countries in the wake of the Arab Spring. Ongoing troubles in Yemen, Syria and Libya are further complicating the job problem.

Of concern is the occurrence of high unemployment at a time when the workforce participation constitutes nearly 42 per cent of the total population. This ratio is low compared to the global average, where workers make up more than half of the population, as in the case of the US.

The relatively limited participation of the work force in Arab nations is partly attributed to low level of female employment. Reasons for such an occurrence focus on the family on the one hand and an absence of equal opportunity on the other.

Ever since the Arab Spring started in Tunisia in late 2010 and then swept Egypt in early 2011, the number of those unemployed in the Arab countries has increased by two million. The new poverty level is put at 20 million, or more than 14 per cent of those in the work force.

The jobless statistics exclude Palestine. The Arab League comprises 22 members including Palestine. It is argued that the unemployment rate runs as high as 50 per cent in Gaza, reflecting the Israeli blockade.

Worse, there are the issues related to being underemployed and disguised unemployment in numerous Arab countries, as some employees find no choice but to accept jobs not commensurate with their qualifications. Still, others work as part time, yet national statistics do not consider them as unemployed.

It is contended that the Arab Spring in late 2010 started due to an economic reason, when Mohamed Bouazizi of Tunisia was blocked from working in the informal economy. As a consequence, he set himself ablaze, with the rest being history.

The writer is a Member of Parliament in Bahrain.