Egypt's unemployment rate falls to 11.8% in 2017

Egypt’s unemployment rate fell to 11.8 percent in 2017, from 12.5 percent in 2016, CAPMAS announced on Monday.
The government has been leading a policy of prioritizing labor-intensive industries, in a bid to provide job opportunities.

Unemployment in 2017 was at 14.5 percent in rural areas, versus 9.8 percent in rural areas.

Unemployment among males recorded 8.2 percent in 2017, down from 8.9 percent in 2016.

The gender gap results in a 23.1 percent unemployment rate for females in 2017, down from 23.6 percent in 2016.

The highest unemployment rate was recorded in the governorate of Suez (22.3 percent) and the Red Sea governorate, which relies on tourism for job opportunities (18.5 percent), while the lowest was in Menoufiya (6.9 percent).

Among young people (aged 15-29 years old), the unemployment rate was 24.8 percent in 2017.

Within this age group, 20 percent of males and 36.5 percent of females were unemployed.

A rate of 31.8 percent of youth who are degree-holders are unemployed.