Unemployment rate drops to 9.9% in 2Q2018, down from 10.6% in 1Q2018

Unemployment dropped to 9.9% in 2Q2018, down from 10.6% in the first quarter of the year, CAPMAS announced in its quarterly report yesterday. The overall labor force decreased 0.5% to 29.0 mn people in 2Q2018, down from 29.2 mn in the previous quarter. While the gap between female and male unemployment remained wide at 21.2% and 6.7%, respectively, the stats show, Egypt’s unemployment rate has been on a steady decline as the result of the ongoing economic reform program. Unemployment had dropped to 11.8% at the end of 2017, down from 12.5% at the end of the previous year.