34,000 Young Mauritians NEET: Opposition Raises Youth Jobs Alarm

Opposition leader Xavier-Luc Duval has raised a stark warning about the state of youth opportunity in Mauritius, revealing that an estimated 34,000 young people in the country are currently not in employment, education or training. This group is commonly referred to internationally as NEET, a measure widely used by economists and policymakers to gauge how many young people risk being left behind by an economy.

Duval, who leads the Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate (PMSD), one of the main opposition parties in the National Assembly, brought the figure to public attention as a call to action for the government. He described the situation as a serious alarm that demands an urgent and coordinated response from the authorities.

The NEET rate is considered one of the most telling indicators of a country's social and economic health. Young people who fall into this category are at greater risk of long-term unemployment, poverty, and social exclusion. In a small island economy like Mauritius, where the labour market is already under structural pressure from automation, skills mismatches and a shifting global economy, a figure of 34,000 represents a significant proportion of the youth population.

Mauritius has a total population of approximately 1.3 million people. The country's youth unemployment rate has historically been higher than the overall unemployment rate, a pattern common across many developing economies. The government has launched various programmes over the years, including the National Youth Council initiatives and vocational training schemes under the Mauritius Institute of Training and Development (MITD), but critics argue these efforts have not been sufficient in scale or reach.

Duval's intervention comes at a time when the island's economy is navigating a post-pandemic recovery, rising costs of living, and pressure on public finances. The concern is not simply about young people being out of work, but about a generation potentially losing the skills, confidence and social connections that come from structured education or employment during formative years.

What this means: If the figure of 34,000 NEET youth is accurate, it signals a structural gap between the education system and the labour market in Mauritius. For families, it means fewer young earners contributing to household incomes. For businesses, it suggests a potential skills shortage in the future. For policymakers, it is a prompt to revisit whether existing training programmes, career guidance services and employment incentives are reaching those who need them most. Opposition pressure of this kind typically forces a government response, either through new policy announcements or a defence of existing programmes.

The government has not yet issued a formal response to the figures cited by Duval. It remains to be seen whether the National Assembly will take up the issue for broader debate in the weeks ahead.

Source: Le Defi Media