Factors Associated with Women Unemployment in Ethiopia

Abstract

Unemployment is one of the main challenges of the modern era in both the developed and developing countries. Employment of women in economic activities has several beneficial effects for women and their families. Unemployment gives rise to private and social problems in the society such as increased crimes, suicides, poverty, alcoholism and prostitution. High level of unemployment rates can also contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS in developing countries. In general, unemployment affects household income, health, government revenue and hence GDP and development at large. Studying unemployment therefore helps tackle these problems through some kind of policy actions. The average unemployment rate for women age from 15-49 was 48.8%. The unemployment rate is still significantly higher among females. Heavy domestic duties, pregnancy and discrimination are some of the reasons for female unemployment. Ethiopian women also earn less than men. Unemployment is more of a problem of women than that of their counterparts. This issue dictates the researcher to consider the determinants and consequences of unemployment of women in Ethiopia. In line with this, the objective of this study is to study the determinants of unemployment of women in the study area. This study used data from Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS), 2016. A Binary Logistic Regression Analysis is used to identify the most important determinant factors which are associated with the occupational status of women in Ethiopia. The result of binary logistic regression model also revealed that place of residence, educational level of woman, currently pregnant, currently breastfeeding, wealth index, age of the respondent at the first birth and marital status had significant effect on women unemployment at 5% level of significance.