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Egypt’s unemployment rate fell — for the second straight quarter — 0.1 percentage point from 4Q 2024 to 6.3% in 1Q 2025, according to data from the state statistics agency Capmas. The rate is down from 6.7% recorded in the same quarter last year.
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Labor force growth drives the uptick: The country’s total labor force increased by 1% q-o-q to 33.4 mn people. This was driven by an additional 342k individuals securing jobs in 1Q 2025, while the number of those unemployed decreased by 19k.
The gender gap persists: Male unemployment came in at 3.6%, down from 3.9% in 4Q 2024 and 4.4% in 1Q 2024. Meanwhile, female unemployment stood at a much higher 16.4%, though it was still down 0.2 percentage points from 4Q 2024 and 0.1 percentage point from the same quarter last year.
Youth and fresh grads continue to struggle: Those aged 15-29 accounted for 58.6% of total unemployed individuals, down from 64.6% in 4Q 2024. Capmas doesn’t provide an official rate of youth unemployment.
Rural areas lead the recovery: Unemployment in rural Egypt dropped to 3.6% from 4.5% in 4Q 2024 and down a full percentage point y-o-y. Meanwhile, urban unemployment expanded to 9.8% in 1Q 2025, up from 8.9% during the last quarter and 0.4 percentage points above the same period last year.
The self-employment market continues to grow, with salaried workers declining as a proportion of the workforce: Salaried workers made up 69.7% of the total number of those employed — a 0.3 percentage point quarterly decline — while the self-employed now make up 22% — a 1.4 percentage point increase on 4Q 2024. Those working for family businesses fell 0.3 percentage points to 4.0% of the total workforce, while business owners inched up 0.2 percentage points to 4.3%.
REMEMBER- The unemployment rate excludes working-age individuals who are not actively seeking jobs or are unable to work. The labor force participation rate — which counts everyone aged 15-64 either in work or actively looking for work — came in at 45.8% in 1Q 2025, compared to 45.5% in the previous quarter and 43.5% in 1Q 2024.
