Youth unemployment, covering the age group 15–29 years, also saw improvement, reaching 14.9% of the total labor force within the same age category, down by 1.0 percentage point from the previous year.
Egypt’s unemployment rate fell to 6.6% in 2024, down from 7.0% in 2023, marking a 0.4 percentage point decrease compared to 2023, according to the latest data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization (CAPMAS).
Youth unemployment, covering the age group 15–29 years, also saw improvement, reaching 14.9% of the total labor force within the same age category, down by 1.0 percentage point from the previous year. Among this group, unemployment stood at 9.8% for males and 37.1% for females.
Breaking down by age groups, the unemployment rate among individuals aged 15–19 years registered at 12.2% in 2024, compared to 12.4% in 2023.
Among young people aged 15–29 holding intermediate, above-intermediate, university, or postgraduate degrees, the unemployment rate dropped to 18.7%, compared to 20.3% the previous year. Specifically, unemployment among males in this educated segment fell to 12.2%, compared to 13.3% in 2023.
The total labor force was estimated at 32.041 million individuals in 2024, consisting of 26.080 million males and 5.961 million females.
This reflects a 2.9% increase compared to 2023, when the labor force stood at 31.149 million. In terms of geographical distribution, the urban labor force accounted for 14.078 million individuals, while the rural labor force totaled 17.963 million individuals.
As for unemployment figures, the number of unemployed individuals dropped to 2.113 million in 2024, including 1.091 million males and 1.022 million females. This represents a decline of 77,000 unemployed individuals, or 3.5%, compared to 2023.
In urban areas, the unemployment rate decreased to 9.6% compared to 9.9% in 2023, while rural unemployment dropped to 4.2% compared to 4.8%.
Unemployment among urban males stood at 6.3%, while it was significantly lower among rural males at 2.6%.
Female unemployment, however, remained considerably higher in urban areas at 21.8%, compared to 12.4% in rural areas, largely due to greater female participation in agricultural activities in rural communities.
Moreover, 42.3% of the unemployed population in 2024 had previous work experience, slightly down from 45.3% in 2023.
Employment figures showed strong growth, with the total number of employed individuals reaching 29.928 million in 2024, including 24.989 million males and 4.939 million females. This compares to 28.959 million employed individuals in 2023, reflecting a 3.3% increase. Employment in urban areas totaled 12.726 million, while employment in rural areas reached 17.202 million.
Looking at sector-specific employment, the number of people working in agriculture and fishing rose to 5.594 million, accounting for 18.7% of total employment — a 5.9% increase from 2023. Employment in wholesale and retail trade reached 4.636 million workers, or 15.5% of the workforce, showing a 5.8% rise.
Meanwhile, employment in the construction sector reached 4.042 million workers, representing 13.5% of total employment, and employment in manufacturing grew to 3.946 million workers, accounting for 13.2% of the workforce, reflecting a 5.4% increase compared to 2023.
The overall economic participation rate — defined as the proportion of people aged 15 and over engaged in the labor market — rose to 44.2% in 2024, compared to 43.4% in 2023.
Among males, the participation rate increased to 70.3%, up from 69.6% in 2023, while among females, it rose to 16.9%, compared to 15.9% the previous year. Despite this improvement, male participation remains more than four times higher than female participation.
Geographically, the economic participation rate in urban areas climbed to 44.0% in 2024 from 42.7% in 2023, while in rural areas it edged up slightly to 44.4%, compared to 44.0% a year earlier.
