Change and Rigidity in Youth Employment Patterns in Malawi

Abstract This chapter seeks to determine whether the youth of Malawi are central to any changes occurring in employment patterns in the country, possibly drawing upon their increased levels of training, benefitting from higher agricultural production levels overall linked to the Farm Input Subsidy Program, and responding to increased pressures to obtain a livelihood elsewhere than on increasingly small agriculture landholdings. Little evidence can be found of any significant processes of transformation in the structure of Malawi’s economy or of youth being in the vanguard of any changes in cross-sectoral patterns of employment. The small growth in service sector employment is being driven by the activities of older youth and non-youth, while younger youth instead extend the length of their schooling. Multivariate regression analysis reveals nonfarm employment and educational attainment are strongly associated. The main limitations to youth employment are the few high-quality jobs in Malawi in which well-trained individuals can use their skills productively.