Unemployment in Egypt rises to 9.6 percent

  • Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt
  • 18 August 2020
1

The unemployment rate in Egypt increased, according to data issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, to 9.6% during the second quarter of 2020, as unemployment approached its highest rate in two years, after the Covid-19 pandemic forced many companies and economic activities to stop their work. The unemployment rate reached 7.7% at the end of last March, before it rose to 9.2% in April as the government tightened precautionary measures to confront the pandemic. The PMI, due for release next month, will be an important indicator of whether employment rates will rise again after easing the precautionary measures related to "Covid-19".

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics report showed a decrease in the workforce by 8%, to reach 26.7 million in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 28.1 million people in the second quarter of 2019 (this includes workers and the unemployed).

The report showed a decline in the female unemployment rate during the closing period, as the female unemployment rate reached 16.2% by the end of the second quarter of 2020, after it was 22.4% during the same period last year. While the unemployment rate among males was 8.5% in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 4.2% in the same period in 2019.

Source (Arabic CNBC site, Edited)

Get an annual subscription in the quarterly Arab Economic bulletin

SUBSCRIBE NOW