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National Employment Policy and Strategy of Ethiopia

November 2009 Addis Ababa

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Acronyms AIDS ART CETU CSA EEF EPRDF ERP FDI GDP HERQA HICES HIV ICT IHDP IMF M&E MDG MFI MOFED MSE NEC NEPS NES NGO PASDEP PSNP TVET UEAP Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome Anti-retroviral Therapy Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions Central Statistical Agency Ethiopian Employers’ Federation Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front Economic Reform Program Foreign Direct Investment Gross Domestic Product Higher Education Relevance and Quality Agency Household Income and Consumption Expenditure Survey Human Immunodeficiency Virus Information and Communication Technology Integrated Housing Development Program International Monetary Fund Monitoring and Evaluation Millennium Development Goals Micro-finance Institutions Ministry of Finance and Economic Development Micro and Small Enterprises National Employment Council National Employment Policy and Strategy National Employment Secretariat Non-governmental Organization Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End Poverty Productive Safety Net Program Technical and Vocational Education and Training Universal Electricity Access Program

iii Table of Contents Foreword ............................................................................................................................ iv PART ONE Background ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 General introduction ……………………………………………………………. 1

1.2 Population, its Profile and Dynamics............................................................................ 2 1.3 The Relationship between Economic Growth, Employment and Poverty Reduction .. 3 1.4 Nature and Incidence of Employment/Unemployment ................................................ 6 1.4.1 Trends in