Egypt's unemployment falls slightly to 12.8% in Q1 2015

Egypt’s unemployment rate fell slightly in the first quarter of 2015 to 12.8 percent from 13.4 percent in the same period the previous year, state-run statistics body CAPMAS announced on Sunday.

The CAPMAS quarterly report attributed the minimal decline from the previous quarter when it stood at 12.9 percent to improvements in economic activities.

Egypt’s economy is set to grow by at least four percent in 2014, up from just 2.1 percent in 2013, Planning Minister, Ashraf El-Araby, announced last week.

Almost 65.6 percent of unemployed people were aged between 15 and 29, and more than 76 percent hold diplomas or university degrees.

Urban unemployment fell to 16 percent in the first quarter of 2015 from 16.5 percent in the same period the previous year, while unemployment in the rural areas fell to 10.3 percent from 11 percent.