Views of University Students on Unemployment

This study considers the effectiveness of Public and Private sector SME-development programs and current development of SMEs in AJK. Some important facts are presented. A comprehensive international literature study was undertaken. A questionnaire was developed for small and medium sized-enterprises owners and top managers to access the status of their enterprises and also to examine SMEs developmental strategies adopted by them. Chi-square test was employed for analysis of the data. The study find that SME are of overwhelming importance to AJ&K because they account for more than 90 percent of all firms outside the agricultural sector. Second, the main constraints faced by small entrepreneurs are cumbersome and onerous business regulations and restrictions, lack of finance, and low human resource and technological capabilities. Finally, the government has been the most important supporting agency for SMEs in AJ&K. However, evidence of the effectiveness of government and private programs to support SME development is mixed and not so encouraging. After analyzing the current SMEs developmental strategies (adopted by both public and private sectors) the study suggested public private partnership (PPP) as future strategy for SMEs development in AJ&K Pakistan.

The Influence of Demographical Factors on the Interaction between Entrepreneurship and Unemployment:

1. The interaction between entrepreneurship and unemployment essentially determines a person's status in the labour market. An examination of the mutual relations of entrepreneurship and unemployment showed that in both theory and practice, there are a "push" (unemployment encourages to start up business) and "pull" (business reduces unemployment) effects.
2. Demographic factors most often used in empirical studies were determined: education, age, gender, marital status, marriage, unemployment/employment experience, ethnic minorities, immigration, race have different impact on business development. There are three factors the unemployment experience, education, age which can positively and negatively affect the business. Positive impact on business is made by a parent/spouser's presence as entrepreneur, emigration, work experience, ethnic minorities; a negative impact on business is exerted by the existence of gender differences. Marital status affects men's and women's willingness to start up a business.
3. Pearsonr's correlation and regression reliability calculations of demographic and business characteristics showed that a strong relationship exists between the indicator of the relation between the number of established companies with a ratio of the number of operating firms with the unemployment duration (1-2 months, 3-5 months) and the number of unemployed men and women in higher education/occupational training. This proves that the short-term unemployment and higher education of both genders have positive effects on business creation, which may cause a reduced unemployment. A strong correlation between the number of newly established enterprises and the unemployment duration (1-2 months) and the education of unemployed persons of both genders showed that the demographic factors largely contribute to the "push" effect.

Unemployment has brought some serious problems like poverty, crimes and suicides that eradicating unemployment would be the hard job itself. Government is not the only one who responsible to reduce the percent of jobless but also all those who can actively contribute to be job- creator and not job seekers. The International Labor Organization predicts unemployment will rise by about 2.3 million this year to 199.4 million, and that 1.1 million will be added to the global count in 2017, taking joblessness to more than 200 million for the first time on record.

Unemployment Rate in Nepal increased to 3.20 percent in 2016 from 3 percent in 2015. Unemployment Rate in Nepal averaged 2.97 percent from 1991 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 4.50 percent in 1996 and a record low of 1.90 percent in 1999.
As mentioned earlier, entrepreneurs play a vital role in job creation and providing opportunities to young people.It is now becoming increasingly important because of the changes in economic structure and the use of technology. Nepal has shifted from an agrarian economy to a non-agrarian economy, and subsistence farming alone does not provide enough livelihood opportunities for many. This calls for new initiatives for business or self-employment in many non-farming sectors, although there are opportunities to be innovative and creative in the farming sector. The use of modern technology coupled with a shrinking public sector has reduced the scope for large-scale employment opportunities in Nepal.

With less experience and fewer skills than many adults, young people often encounter particular difficulty accessing work. The global youth unemployment rate, which has long exceeded that of other age groups, saw its largest annual increase on record in 2009; at its peak, 75.8 million young people were unemployed. United Nations World Youth Report, 2012

We are entering the era of unparalleled talent scarcity, which, if left unaddressed, will put a brake on economic growth around the world, and will fundamentally change the way we approach workforce challenges. Jean Charest, Premier of Quebec, World Economic Forum Global Talent Risk Report, 2011

Entrepreneurship and innovation are priority areas for the EU as they offer opportunities to overcome the current crisis, increase global competitiveness and ensure sustainable and profitable growth (Homolova et al., 2014). Moreover, entrepreneurship is regarded as ?the heart of innovation, productivity growth, competitiveness, economic growth and job creation (Grilo and Thurik, 2006, p.4), being associated with personal success. The Europe 2020 strategy recognises entrepreneurship and self-employment as key for achieving smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (European Commission, 2010).

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