Egypt’s Unemployment Drops to 7.3% during Q3

Business

November 16th, 11:46am

Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat

Egyptian Quarantine Authority employees scan body temperature for incoming travelers at Cairo International Airport. (AFP)

Egypt’s unemployment rate fell to 7.3 percent during the third quarter of the year, down from 7.8 percent during the same period in 2019, announced the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The agency attributed the decline to the resumption of normal daily activities, after the gradual easing of the precautionary measures imposed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent during Q2 of 2020, due to the economic repercussions caused by the outbreak and subsequent lockdown measures. In a statement, the agency said the labor force increased to 28.171 million in Q3 of 2020, at a rate of 5.6 percent compared to the same quarter of 2019, while unemployment reached 2.061 million, declining by 151,000 on a year-on-year basis. It pointed out that Egypt had 2.061 million unemployed persons in Q3 compared to 2.574 million in Q2, a 19.9 percent drop. The non-oil private sector witnessed activity growth at the beginning of Q4 of 2020, after reports indicated the improvement of market conditions leading to a strong increase in demand. Egypt’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) continued to rise in October, for the second month in a row, to reach the highest level since December 2014. The index, compiled by IHS Markit Group, provides an accurate overview of business conditions of non-oil private sector. It rose to 51.4 points in October, up from 50.4 points in September. This is the second consecutive monthly improvement after 12 straight months of contraction, exacerbated earlier this year by the pandemic. In its report, IHS pointed out that there was a growth in production and new orders, which led to a renewed increase in the products purchases. The group indicated that the rate of activity growth was the fastest since August 2014. Many companies attributed the growth in sales to increased market activity in Egypt and new export businesses.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2628536/egypt%E2%80%99s-unemployment-drops-73-during-q3