Unemployment drops to 6.7% in Q1 2024: Egypt's CAPMAS

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Egypt - The unemployment rate has seen a decline to 6.7% in the first quarter of 2024, down from 6.9% in the last quarter of 2023, as per the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

CAPMAS released a statement today, highlighting that the labour force experienced a 1.0% increase, rising to 31.397 million individuals from 31.101 million. The urban labour force now stands at 13.758 million, with the rural counterpart at 17.639 million. Male participation in the labour force is significant, with 25.537 million males compared to 5.860 million females.

The agency attributes this positive trend to a substantial rise in employment, with 351,000 more individuals employed this quarter, alongside a reduction of 55,000 in unemployment. Consequently, the labour force has expanded by 296,000 individuals.

Current divs from CAPMAS show 2.104 million people unemployed, making up 6.7% of the labour force, including 1.136 million men and 968,000 women. The male unemployment rate is 4.4%, while the female rate is significantly higher at 16.5%. Urban unemployment stands at 9.4%, contrasted with 4.6% in rural regions.

A notable 82.5% of the unemployed hold degrees ranging from intermediate to university level or higher.

Furthermore, CAPMAS reports an increase of 1.2% in employment, totalling 29.293 million employed individuals—an uptick from 28.942 million last quarter. This includes 12.464 million in urban areas and 16.829 million in rural locales.