Egypt’s Unemployment Rate

The country’s lower unemployment rate is due to aggressive reforms that included the liberalization of the Egyptian pound, elimination of most subsidies and the introduction of new taxes such as the value added tax, in 2016.

The reforms led to a rise in foreign currency reserves and in exports, and a drop in imports.

With the drop in imports, local demand driven production had increased and national megaprojects that included the construction of new cities, thousands of kilometres of roads, electricity plants and bridges also supported increased employment.

2023 has seen increasing unemployment rates with the 2nd quarter of 2023 registering a 7% unemployment rate, increasing to 7.1% in the third quarter of 2023.

The Egyptian government anticipates an unemployment rate of 7.6% by mid-2024, however with plans to create 800,000 jobs, across agriculture, construction, retail, and manufacturing sectors, the unemployment rates are expected to improve to 6.9% by mid-2026.