CAIRO – 28 April 2025: Egypt’s unemployment rate dropped by 0.4% in 2024, reaching 6.6% compared to 7% in 2023, according to the latest data released from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
Youth unemployment, covering individuals aged 15–29, also saw a positive shift, falling to 14.9 percent of the total labor force within this age group — a decrease of 1.0 percentage point compared to the previous year. Within this category, unemployment rates stood at 9.8 percent for males and 37.1 percent for females.
A closer look by age group shows that unemployment among those aged 15–19 years was 12.2 percent in 2024, slightly lower than the 12.4 percent recorded in 2023.
Among highly educated youth — those with intermediate, above-intermediate, university, or postgraduate degrees — the unemployment rate fell to 18.7 percent, compared to 20.3 percent the year before. Specifically, unemployment among educated males dropped to 12.2 percent from 13.3 percent in 2023.
Egypt’s total labor force was estimated at 32.041 million individuals in 2024, comprising 26.080 million males and 5.961 million females. This represents a 2.9 percent increase compared to 2023, when the labor force totaled 31.149 million. Geographically, 14.078 million individuals were part of the urban labor force, while 17.963 million resided in rural areas.
The number of unemployed individuals decreased to 2.113 million in 2024, including 1.091 million males and 1.022 million females. This marks a reduction of 77,000 unemployed individuals — a 3.5 percent decline compared to 2023.
In urban areas, the unemployment rate dropped to 9.6 percent, down from 9.9 percent in 2023, while in rural areas, it fell to 4.2 percent from 4.8 percent.
Among males, urban unemployment registered at 6.3 percent, whereas rural male unemployment was significantly lower at 2.6 percent. Female unemployment remained higher, standing at 21.8 percent in urban areas versus 12.4 percent in rural regions, largely due to stronger female participation in agricultural activities in rural communities.
Additionally, 42.3 percent of the unemployed population in 2024 had previous work experience, slightly down from 45.3 percent in 2023.
Employment growth remained robust: the number of employed individuals reached 29.928 million in 2024, comprising 24.989 million males and 4.939 million females. This compares to 28.959 million employed individuals in 2023, representing a 3.3 percent increase. Employment in urban areas totaled 12.726 million, while rural areas accounted for 17.202 million employed individuals.
Sector-specific data showed agriculture and fishing employment rising to 5.594 million, accounting for 18.7 percent of total employment — a 5.9 percent increase from 2023. Employment in wholesale and retail trade reached 4.636 million workers, or 15.5 percent of the workforce, reflecting a 5.8 percent rise.
Employment in the construction sector grew to 4.042 million workers, representing 13.5 percent of total employment, while the manufacturing sector employed 3.946 million workers, or 13.2 percent of the labor force — a 5.4 percent increase compared to the previous year.
The overall economic participation rate — the proportion of people aged 15 and older involved in the labor market — climbed to 44.2 percent in 2024, up from 43.4 percent in 2023.
Among males, the participation rate rose to 70.3 percent from 69.6 percent, while among females it increased to 16.9 percent compared to 15.9 percent in the previous year. Despite these improvements, male participation remains more than four times higher than female participation.
Regionally, the economic participation rate in urban areas increased to 44.0 percent from 42.7 percent, while rural areas saw a slight rise to 44.4 percent, up from 44.0 percent in 2023.
Mon, Apr. 28, 2025
