Egypt's unemployment rate reached 8% in the fourth quarter (4Q) of 2019, up from 7.8% in the 3Q 2019, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced Saturday. However, in year-on-year (YoY) terms, unemployment decreased by 0.9% in 3Q 2019, compared to 3Q 2018. According to CAPMAS, the country's workforce recorded 28.95 million people in 4Q 2019, up from 28.406 million in 3Q 2019. The workforce in urban areas recorded 12,56 million, while in rural areas it stands at 16.39 million. The total number of unemployed registered 2.329 million in 4Q 2019. On a gender basis, the unemployment rate among males recorded 4.7% or 1.12 million, while the females it was 22.7% or 1.209 million. The percentage of the unemployed (intermediate, intermediate and university degrees, and above) decreased to 86.9%, while it was 88.6% in the previous quarter. Moreover, CAPMAS indicates that 86.9% out of the 2.329 million unemployed have either an intermediate degree (technical, vocational education or training, or secondary general), an above intermediate degree (technical institutes), or a graduate or postgraduate degree. In regard to the type of employment, 70% of workers are wage labourers and 10.7% are employers or entrepreneurs. Self-employed workers recorded 12.5% and 6.8% of the workforce is working in a family business without a wage. CAPMAS revealed that the largest percentage of hiring was in the agriculture and fishing sector, which added 409,000 new jobs in 4Q 2019. The sector's total employment stands at 5.776 million, equivalent to 21.7% of Egypt's total employment. In second place came the wholesale and retail sector, with 214,000 new hires in the same period, bringing the sector's total labour force to 3.757 million employees. Furthermore, the third most hiring sector was the domestic workers' sector, which added 161,000 employees in 4Q 2019.
