Unemployment inches down for the second quarter in a row: Egypt’s unemployment rate fell to 6.7% of the total workforce in the first quarter of this year, inching down 0.2 percentage points from the previous quarter, according to data released yesterday by state statistics agency Capmas. Unemployment was down 0.4 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

A gender breakdown: Unemployment among men decreased to 4.4% in 1Q 2024, marking a 0.2 percentage point decline from the previous quarter and 0.1 percentage point drop y-o-y. For women, unemployment fell to 16.5% in the quarter, down from 17.7% in the previous quarter and down 2.7 percentage points from the same period last year.

Youth unemployment crept up slightly: Folks aged 15-29 accounted for 64.5% of all jobless people in 1Q 2024, marginally up from 62.4% in the previous quarter. Capmas doesn’t provide an official rate of youth unemployment.

REMEMBER- By definition, the official unemployment rate only includes people who are looking for work. The labor force participation rate — which counts everyone aged 15-64 either in work or actively looking for work — came in at 43.5%, up from 43.1% in the previous quarter and 43.0% in 1Q 2023.

DATA POINT: Egypt’s labor force now stands at 31.4 mn, up 1.0% on the previous quarter. Men make up 81% of the workforce and women make up 19%.

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