The unemployment rate in Egypt has reached 11.9 percent, according to May 2011 statistical reports, said Manpower and Immigration Minister Ahmed Hassan Borai on Tuesday. During his speech at the International Labour Conference being held in Geneva, Switzerland, Borai said that 45 percent of unemployed youth are under 26 years of age and that 80 percent of them have degrees. Borai went on to say that the poverty rate in Egypt (those living on less than US$2 a day) has reached 42 percent. Borai said these and other statistics have pushed the “revolutionary government” to place the issue of social justice at the top of its priorities and to take a number of actions to ensure social justice is achieved. He explained that these measures would include ensuring trade union freedoms through the establishment of 26 independent trade unions with no government interference, as well as setting a minimum wage, setting up a LE2 billion unemployment and training fund, and raising the efficiency of the 1200 training centers nationwide to bridge the gap between education outputs and labor market requirements. Borai announced that the government would grant unemployment benefit for the trainees during their training period, in addition to ensuring a job opportunity for each trainee. Borai also called on all nations and international organizations to support Egypt, its revolution and its young people by working on the resumption of investment flows and supporting the Egyptian economy. Translated from the Arabic Edition
