The Minister of Manpower, Mohamed Saafan, announced on Saturday that the ministry targets to reduce the unemployment rate in Egypt by 1.5% to 8.5% in 2019.
He pointed out that the ministry will strengthen cooperation with private employers and investors to increase job opportunities in their firms.
In November, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics announced that Egypt’s unemployment rate stands at 10% of the total labour force in the third quarter (Q3) of 2018, and 9.9% in Q2 2018, down by 0.1%, and up by 1.9% compared to the same period in 2017.
“The new labour bill is currently being discussed by the parliament, and once approved, it will achieve job security in the private sector, encourage youth to get employed, and reduce foreign employment to the lowest possible rate,” Saafan explained.
Furthermore, in the new year, the ministry is planning to finalise the electronic linking of the ministry’s employment offices with the databases of training centres to facilitate the process of career guidance.
Additionally, the development of the vocational training system, modifying the training objectives, and output to match the needs of the labour market, will be on the ministry’s agenda in 2019, as well as expanding the social and health coverage base of the 2.5 million informal sector employees surveyed by the ministry.
