Rise in Egypt’s Unemployment

Egypt’s unemployment rate rose to 6.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter, according to data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), reports ahramonline.

The figures show continued labour-market fluctuations this year.

The unemployment rate eased to 6.2pc in Q1, dipped to 6.1pc in Q2, then climbed again to 6.4pc in Q3.

In its quarterly labour force survey covering July-September, CAPMAS reported a 3.3pc expansion in the labour force, which increased to 34.7 million people compared to 33.6m in Q2.

The rise was driven by 939,000 newly employed individuals and 175,000 newly unemployed, bringing total labour force growth to more than 1.1m.

The number of unemployed reached 2.23m, up from 2.05m the previous quarter.

Unemployment among men increased to 4.0pc, while the rate among women edged down to 15pc, from 15.8pc in Q2. Urban unemployment rose to 10.1pc, while rural unemployment reached 3.6pc, compared to 3.3pc in the previous quarter.

CAPMAS noted that 83.1pc of unemployed individuals hold intermediate, post-intermediate, university, or higher qualifications – up from 78.2pc in Q2.

Total employment reached 32.5m, a 3pc quarterly increase. Urban areas accounted for 13.7m of the employed population, compared to 18.8m in rural areas.

Employees on cash wages represented 68.8pc of the workforce (22.36m). The number of employers running their own businesses rose to 1.64m, while 6.2m people were self-employed without employees, representing 19.2pc of total employment.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing remained Egypt’s largest employer, providing jobs for 6.65m workers (20.5pc). This was followed by wholesale and retail trade with 5.23m workers (16.1pc), manufacturing with 4.3m (13.2pc), and construction with 3.82m.

As of March, Egypt raised the minimum wage for public and private-sector employees to 7,000 Eyptian pounds (US$149), the sixth increase in three years.

The adjustment comes amid persistent inflationary pressures in 2025, which have strained household budgets and increased operating costs for businesses.