GENEVA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Africa needs to create jobs at a faster pace to absorb its growing labor force, experts attending a round-table discussion on sustaining growth in Africa said Wednesday.
Brent Wilton, Secretary-General of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), which organized the panel discussion, said Africa would create 54 million more stable jobs by 2020 and it has the potential to generate 72 million jobs over the decade.
However, by 2020, the African economy is projected to add 220 million people to the workforce, creating a continent-wide labor force of more than 500 million, he said.
"A normal path can't do the job," he said.
Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said access to finance, infrastructure, necessary regulation, the link between public and private sector and skills development are measures of boosting a job-creating growth.
"The area of critical importance is the need to formalize jobs in the informal economy and in the rural economy. The core issue is to create stable wage-paying jobs at a faster pace," he said.
Participants also agreed that employment strategies should focus on sectors with the biggest job-creating potential, such as retail, hospitality, manufacturing and agriculture.
Currently, unemployment in Africa is only 9 percent but of those who are employed, just 28 percent have a stable job in the formal economy, according to ILO.
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