The unemployment rate dropped to 11.8% at the end of 2017 from 12.5% a year earlier, CAPMAS’ quarterly report showed. The gap between female unemployment rates and males’ remains high, with the unemployment rate for men registering 8.2% and that for women at 23.1%. Overall, the labor force grew by 1.9% y-o-y to 29.47 mn people, with the participation rate dropping to 45% by 2017’s end, compared to 46.6% in 2016. Youth unemployment rate registered 24.8% as of the end of 2017.

Where’s the job creation coming from? “In general, there are very clear improvements in the economy. The questions remain: how broad are these improvements and how many new jobs are being created?” said Pharos Holdings COO Angus Blair tells Reuters. “The PMI Survey has reported that the private sector in Egypt has seen a contraction in non-oil employment for about two years, so the question is where is the rise in employment coming from?” said Blair. Egypt’s PMI has declined for the past 29 months except for one.