Egypt’s annual unemployment rate declined to 6.3 per cent in 2025, down from 6.6 per cent the year before.
The unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of people without work who are able and willing to work out of the total labour force of people aged between 15 and 64. Unemployment varies according to setting (urban or rural), as well as gender, age, and level of education.
Alia Al-Mahdi, a former dean of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science in Cairo, said the reported decline in unemployment rates was the result of the exclusion of large numbers of workers who are capable of working but who have ceased seeking employment after losing hope of finding suitable opportunities.
But Minister of Labour Hassan Raddad told the press that the decline in unemployment rates “reflects a clear improvement in labour market conditions, driven by the expansion of major national projects and the job opportunities they have generated across various sectors.”
He noted that the unemployment rate had fallen from approximately 13.4 per cent in 2013 to around 6.2 per cent by the end of 2025.
Al-Mahdi said that the agricultural sector has the largest labour force in Egypt, despite its seasonal nature. It is followed by the wholesale and retail trade, industry, and the construction sector. The latter is characterised by irregular employment, with jobs often ending upon the completion of projects.
Mohamed Anis, a member of the Egyptian Society for Political Economy, concurred, saying that agriculture remains one of the largest employers in Egypt, noting that the sector has absorbed increasing numbers of workers in line with the expansion of cultivated land and the recent growth in agricultural projects.
The state has recently announced a number of major agricultural initiatives. These include the New Delta project (2.2 million feddans), one of the largest projects on the northwest coast, which aims to reclaim more than one million feddans in its first phase and increase Egypt’s cultivated area by approximately 15 per cent.
Other projects include the Mostaqbal Misr Agricultural Production project and the Sinai Development project, which is planned to add 450,000 feddans to the agricultural area of the Sinai Peninsula supported by the Bahr Al-Baqar water treatment plant.
There is also the 1.5 Million Feddans project, which seeks to expand the cultivated area to 9.5 million feddans, a 20 per cent increase, through the Egyptian Countryside Development Company.
Over the past year, Egypt’s labour force has recorded notable growth, rising to 34.154 million people, an increase of 6.6 per cent compared to the year before. The figure comprises 26.683 million men and 7.471 million women.
Unemployment among the holders of intermediate, above-intermediate, and university qualifications also declined to 16.8 per cent, down from 18.7 per cent in 2024, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).
CAPMAS data revealed that unemployment in urban areas stood at 9.8 per cent, compared to 3.5 per cent in rural areas. Urban female unemployment reached 22.5 per cent, versus 8.8 per cent in rural areas, reflecting the additional challenges facing many women in cities.
Anis noted that the tourism and manufacturing sectors experienced strong growth last year, contributing to their absorbing a larger share of the workforce.
Egypt’s tourism sector saw a robust recovery in 2025, driven by improved security conditions, competitive pricing for visitors following the depreciation of the Egyptian pound, and the momentum generated by the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in the final quarter of the year.
Egypt received around 19 million tourists last year, surpassing initial estimates of 18 million and marking a 21 per cent increase compared to 2024. Tourism revenues approached $24 billion, up from $15.3 billion in 2024.
The state expects these figures to rise to more than 21 million tourists this year, according to earlier statements by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy.
Anis does not expect unemployment rates to fall significantly below current levels, noting that the labour market continues to face a mismatch between the availability of skilled labour and market requirements, despite the growing number of graduates.
He added that the method of calculating unemployment is also not always accurate. People are not classified as unemployed if they have worked a single day, even if they remain without work for weeks thereafter, he explained.
Economic researcher Ilhami Al-Marghani agreed, pointing out that the method used in labour force sample surveys classifies anyone who has worked during the past six months, even for one day, as employed rather than unemployed.
Al-Marghani also criticised the lack of clarity regarding the specific sectors that have generated employment opportunities.
He noted that even those currently employed remain vulnerable to unemployment. According to the 2025 Labour Quality Indicators report published by CAPMAS as part of its annual report, 35 per cent of workers are not in permanent employment, an indication of instability in the labour market.
Moreover, 64.2 per cent work without formal contracts, 60.8 per cent without social insurance, and 65.5 per cent without health insurance.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 7 May, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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