Egypt's unemployment rate reached 9.4 percent in the last quarter of 2009 compared to 8.8 percent in the last quarter of 2008, according to a report issued Monday by the state-run Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. The report noted that some 166,000 Egyptians had lost their jobs during the period, swelling the ranks of the unemployed to a total of 2.3 million people. According to CAPMAS, last quarter's layoffs represent 12.6 percent of the total number of unemployed, while layoffs during the last quarter of 2008 represented only 5.9 percent of the total. Unemployment rose by 12.9 percent in urban areas and by 6.7 percent in rural areas, the report stated. It went on to note that 1.3 million unemployed people held high school diplomas while 898,000 held university degrees, further pointing out that 56.4 percent of total unemployed were females and 43.6 percent males. The report also noted that 87.2 percent of the total number of unemployed were between 15 and 29 years of age. According to economy expert Alia el-Mahdi, the increase in Egypt's unemployment rate remains low compared to those of other countries, pointing out that the unemployment rate in the US had jumped from 4.5 percent before the onset of the current global financial crisis in 2008 to more than 10 percent currently. El-Mahdi called on the government to work on creating more jobs by attracting foreign investment. Suez Cement Company President Omar Mehana considers the rise in unemployment rates "normal" given the reduction of Egypt's economic growth rate from 7 percent to 5 percent as a result of the unfolding crisis. He called on the government to modernize the national education system so as to meet the needs of the local labor market. Magdi Tolba, former head of the Egyptian ready-made garments export council, attributed the rise in unemployment to the lack of a skilled workforce in Egypt, pointing out that the local textiles sector in particular was suffering from an acute shortfall of skilled labor. Economy expert Ahmed Galal, for his part, said that a 4-percent rise in the unemployment rate constituted a major dilemma, noting that local unemployment rates had risen for several consecutive years irrespective of the current financial crisis. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
