Egypt’s Unemployment Drops to 6.3 Percent in Q1 2025 Amid Labor Market Shifts

Egypt’s unemployment rate edged down to 6.3 percent in the first quarter of 2025, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). This marks the second consecutive quarterly decline and an improvement from 6.7 percent in the same period last year.

The decrease comes alongside a 1 percent quarter-on-quarter rise in the labor force, which reached 33.4 million. The growth was supported by 342,000 new jobholders entering the market, while the number of unemployed individuals dropped by 19,000.

However, the gender gap in employment remains wide. Male unemployment fell to 3.6 percent, down from 3.9 percent in the previous quarter and 4.4 percent year-on-year. Female unemployment, though slightly better, stayed elevated at 16.4 percent.

Youth remain among the most vulnerable. Individuals aged 15 to 29 made up 58.6 percent of the unemployed—still a majority, although down from 64.6 percent in the previous quarter.

Geographically, rural Egypt showed the most notable improvement, with unemployment falling to 3.6 percent from 4.5 percent. Conversely, urban unemployment rose to 9.8 percent, up from 8.9 percent last quarter.