Egypt Daily News – The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced on Thursday the results of the Labor Force Survey for the first quarter (January – March) of 2025, where the unemployment rate reached 6.3% of the total labor force, marking a 0.1% decrease compared to the previous quarter.
First: The Labor Force (includes employed and unemployed individuals)
The estimated labor force reached 33.447 million individuals, compared to 33.124 million in the previous quarter, marking a 1% increase. The urban labor force was 14.689 million, while the rural labor force was 18.758 million. By gender, the labor force consisted of 26.325 million males and 7.122 million females. This increase is attributed to a rise in the number of employed persons by 342,000 and a decrease in the number of unemployed persons by 19,000, resulting in a net increase of 323,000 in the labor force.
Second: Changes in the Number of Unemployed Individuals
The number of unemployed individuals reached 2.111 million, representing 6.3% of the total labor force (943,000 males and 1.168 million females), compared to 2.130 million unemployed in the previous quarter, a decrease of 19,000 or 0.9%, and an increase of 7,000 compared to the same quarter of the previous year (0.3%).
Unemployment by Place of Residence (Urban vs. Rural):
- Unemployment among males was 3.6% of the male labor force in this quarter, compared to 3.9% in the previous quarter and 4.4% in the same quarter last year.
- Unemployment among females was 16.4%, compared to 16.6% in the previous quarter and 16.5% in the same quarter last year.
- Urban unemployment reached 9.8% of the urban labor force, compared to 8.9% in the previous quarter and 9.4% in the same quarter last year.
- Rural unemployment reached 3.6%, compared to 4.5% in the previous quarter and 4.6% in the same quarter last year.
Unemployment by Age Group:
- 9.3% for the age group 15–19 years, compared to 10.4% in the previous quarter.
- 28.9% for the age group 20–24 years, compared to 33.3% in the previous quarter.
- 20.4% for the age group 25–29 years, compared to 20.9% in the previous quarter.
- 41.4% of the unemployed were in the 30–64 age group, compared to 35.4% in the previous quarter.
Unemployment by Educational Level:
- 78.7% of the unemployed had intermediate, above-intermediate, university, or postgraduate education, compared to 84.2% in the previous quarter.
- 21.3% had less than intermediate education, compared to 15.9% in the previous quarter and 17.6% in the same quarter last year.
- 37.3% had intermediate and above-intermediate qualifications, compared to 39.2% in the previous quarter and 37.8% in the same quarter last year.
- 41.4% had university or postgraduate degrees, compared to 44.9% in the previous quarter and 44.7% in the same quarter last year.
Third: Employed Individuals:
The number of employed persons reached 31.336 million, compared to 30.994 million in the previous quarter, an increase of 1.1%. In urban areas, there were 13.256 million employed individuals, and in rural areas, there were 18.080 million.
- Wage earners totaled 21.862 million (18.173 million males and 3.689 million females), representing 69.7% of all employed persons, compared to 71.0% in the previous quarter and 73.5% in the same quarter last year.
- Employers (those who run and hire for their own businesses) numbered 1.334 million (1.201 million males and 133,000 females), making up 4.3% of total employed persons, compared to 4.1% in the previous quarter and 3.6% in the same quarter last year.
- Self-employed individuals who do not employ others totaled 6.880 million (5.549 million males and 1.331 million females), representing 22.0%, compared to 20.6% in the previous quarter and 19.0% in the same quarter last year.
- Unpaid family workers totaled 1.260 million (460,000 males and 800,000 females), making up 4.0% of all employed persons, compared to 4.3% in the previous quarter and 3.9% in the same quarter last year.
Fourth: Participation in Economic Activity:
- The economic activity participation rate was 45.8% of the population aged 15 and above during the current quarter, compared to 45.5% in the previous quarter and 43.5% in the same quarter last year.
- By gender, male participation was 70.2% (71.3% in the previous quarter and 69.2% in the same quarter last year), while female participation was 20.1% (18.5% in the previous quarter and 16.6% in the same quarter last year).
- By residence, the participation rate was 45.6% in urban areas and 46.0% in rural areas, compared to 45.2% and 45.8% respectively in the previous quarter, and 43.2% and 43.8% respectively in the same quarter last year.
- The age group 40–49 recorded the highest participation in economic activity, reaching 61.3%.
Relative Distribution of Employed Persons by Major Economic Activities in Q1 2025:
Transportation and storage employed 2.636 million (2.603 million males and 33,000 females), representing 8.4%.
Agriculture and fishing had the highest participation, with 6.372 million employed (4.834 million males and 1.538 million females), representing 20.3% of total employed persons.
Wholesale and retail trade employed 5.208 million (4.209 million males and 999,000 females), accounting for 16.6% of total employment.
Manufacturing employed 4.106 million (3.611 million males and 495,000 females), representing 13.1%.
Construction employed 3.590 million (3.555 million males and 35,000 females), representing 11.5%.
