The official unemployment rate declined to 12% of the total workforce in the first quarter (Q1) of the current year, down from 12.4% in the last quarter of 2016 and 12.7% in the first quarter of 2016, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
In a recent report issued on Monday, CAPMAS stated that the total workforce in Egypt reached 29.149 million people, up by 79,000 (0.3%) from the fourth quarter of 2016 and up by 710,000 (2.5%) from the first quarter of 2016.
Moreover, CAPMAS added that the number of unemployed citizens reached 3.503 million people, representing 12% of the total work force. This is down by 88,000 from the fourth quarter of 2016 and 118,000 from the first quarter of 2016.
The number of unemployed youth between the ages of 15 and 29 reached 79% of the total unemployed workforce. The ratio of unemployment in urban areas registered 13.7% of the total workforce there, compared to 14% in the fourth quarter of 2016 and 15.2% in the first quarter of 2016.
Meanwhile, unemployment in rural areas stood at 10.8%, down from 11.1% in the fourth quarter of 2016 and 10.9% in the first quarter of last year.
Additionally, CAPMAS explained that 91.9% of unemployed workforce were university graduates, average and above average certificate holders.
In contrast, CAPMAS said that 25.646 million people were employed in the first quarter of 2017, up by 167,000 (0.7%) from the last quarter of 2016 and 828,000 from the first quarter of 2016.
The number of employed men reached 20.621 million, while that of females reached 5.025 million.
According to CAPMAS, 17.052 million were employed with fixed salaries, accounting for 66.5% of the total employed workforce, while 2.772 million, or 10.8%, were business owners.
Furthermore, 3.347 million people were working as independent professionals, equivalent to 13% of the total workforce, while the number of citizens working in family projects for no official wage amounted to 2.475 million clients, or 9.7% of the workforce.
The agriculture and fishing sectors accounted for the largest share of the workforce, employing 5.302 million people, 20.7% of the total employed workforce.
Construction, wholesale, and retail trade, transformation industries, education, transport, and storage followed on the ranking list respectively, in terms of number of employees.
