Egypt's jobless rate eases to 12.7pct in Q4/2015

Egypt’s unemployment rate eased 0.10 percent in the period from October to December in 2015 compared to the same quarter the year before, state statistics body CAPMAS said in e-mailed statement on Monday.

The jobless rate among the age group of 15 to 64 year-olds, in the most populous Arab nation, registered at 12.77 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, CAPMAS said.

During the same period there were more female job seekers as the unemployment rate for women reached 25.8 percent, while for males the unemployment rate reached 8.9 percent.

The total labour force in Egypt increased by 2.4 percent from October to December last year compared to same period in 2014 to stand at 28.3 million people.

In January, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) called on banks to apportion 20 percent of their total loaning portfolio for small and medium-sized enterprises, with interest rates below 5 percent.

The CBE four-year small and medium-sized financing programme was announced as part of an ambitious plan by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to assist smaller businesses.