Egypt’s unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent in the first quarter of 2019, compared with 10.6% in the same period the prior year, official state statistics agency CAPMAS said on Wednesday.

The number of unemployed people stood at 2.267 million out of a total workforce of 27.968 million in the reported months, CAPMAS said.

Unemployment has been steadily going down in recent months, which some government officials attributting the drop to mega national development projects the country is implementing.

The rate stood at 8.9% in the fourth quarter of 2018 and was 9.9% during the whole year, according to the cabinet.