Unemployment rate declines to 12% in Q1 of 2017: CAPMAS

CAIRO – 15 May 2017: The unemployment rate in Egypt fell to 12 percent in the first quarter of 2017 compared to 12.4 percent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2016, said the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistic (CAPMAS) in a statement on Monday.

The number of the unemployed reached 3.503 million people, marking a decline of 88.000 people (or 12 percent), compared to Q4 of 2016.

The work force volume reached approximately 29.149 million, marking an increase of 79.000 people over Q1 of 2017, the statement added.

The work force recorded a total of 710,000 people in Q1, compared with the same period in 2015, with an increase of 2.5 percent.

The educated unemployed people rate was registered as 91.9 percent of the total work force. This rate includes all levels of education; secondary and high.

The report stated that only 17 million employees receive salaries for their work, while the rest do not.

CAPMAS revealed that the agriculture and fishery sectors had the highest participation rate from those involved in economic activities, recording 20.7 percent (or 5.3 million workers) of the total work force.

Wholesale and retail trade ranked second with 3.2 million workers, recording 12.8 percent of the total work force, while the number of workers in manufacturing reached 3.5 million workers, recording 13.7 percent.