Egyptian jobless rate declines to 8.1 pct in Q1

Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-15 20:26:21|Editor: xuxin
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CAIRO, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's unemployment rate recorded 8.1 percent in the first quarter of 2019, down 2.5 percent from the same period in 2018, official statistics agency said Wednesday.

The rate also shows a decline of 0.8 percent in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2018, said Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) in a report.

The number of the workforce reached 27.97 million, including 22.93 million men, the report added.

The number of jobless people stood at 2.27 million, 8.1 percent of the total workforce, according to CAPMAS.

Egypt has been facing economic recession over the past few years because of political turmoil and relevant security issues, which led to declining tourism and foreign investments amid growing budget deficit, inflation rate and foreign and domestic debts.

In the face of economic challenges, Egypt started in late 2016 a three-year reform program including subsidy cuts, tax hikes and full floatation of the local currency.

Egypt's economic reform program is encouraged by a 12-billion-U.S.-dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund.

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