The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the Middle East countries to work on quick reforms for the public wage bills, as the attempts to curb the unemployment averages through creating job opportunities in the public sector failed.
In a recent report of the fund under the title “Public Wage Bills in the Middle East and Central Asia”, IMF said that countries of the Middle East in addition to Pakistan and Afghanistan spend around six percent of the GDP on the public sector wages.
The report found that the growth of labor force in the public sector is causing less job opportunities in the private sector.
“Some countries such as Egypt, Armenia, Jordan and Tunisia have high unemployment averages despite the fact that there is a huge labor force in their public sector. In other countries such as Bahrain and Afghanistan there are low unemployment averages along with dropping job opportunities in the public sector,” according to the report.
IMF mentioned in its report that the Middle East and Central Asia face huge challenges on the level of economic development. At the same time, several countries suffer internal conflicts, the surge of refugees and the escalated security risks.
The region countries should find ways to fund policies that tackle these challenges. These efforts should include taking procedures to mobilize revenues in a just and efficient way. Also, spending reforms that support growth should be taken.
The report revealed that there is an additional option represented in fixing the public sector huge wage bills, this is the focal point in the study.
