In 2009, the number of private and public sector economic establishments and their employees decreased by 11.4 percent as compared to 2008, said the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The agency revealed that the total number of establishments with 10 or more employees in public or private sectors decreased to 13,368 in 2009 from 15,086 in 2008. CAPMAS Head Abu Bakr al-Gindi attributed the decline in public sector establishments to privatization, pointing out that earlier statistics indidicated higher rates of decline due to greater sales of government establishments. He added that the current lag in privatization has contributed to a reduction in sales of public sector enterprises. Al-Gindi told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the global financial crisis under-lied the decrease in the number of private businesses because it reduced commercial activity that ultimately shut down some businesses. However, he asserted that despite the setback, the current economic situation is improving. The average weekly salary for employees in public and public sectors has increased, said al-Gindy, explaining that the average monthly salary increased by 12 percent from LE1624 in 2008 to LE1820 in 2009. On the other hand, the average monthly salary for private sector employees increased 7.6 percent from LE1100 in 2008 to LE1184 in 2009. Al-Gindi expects that the coming period will witness economic improvement and an increase the number of establishments. He stressed that despite rises in public sector wages, the government no longer plays a substantial role in creating jobs through direct hiring. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
