URGENT: Egypt’s unemployment rate falls to 6.3% in 2025 – CAPMAS

Youth unemployment among those aged 15 to 29 stood at 13.2 per cent in 2025, down 1.7 percentage points from 2024, with rates of 8.1 per cent for males and 33.8 per cent for females.

By age group, unemployment was 9.8 per cent for ages 15 to 19, down from 12.2 per cent in 2024; 16.9 per cent for ages 20 to 24, from 19.1 per cent ; and 11.5 per cent for ages 25 to 29, from 12.2 per cent .

Among educated youth aged 15 to 29, unemployment stood at 16.8 per cent in 2025, down from 18.7 per cent in 2024, including 10.1 per cent for males and 38.3 per cent for females.

The labour force rose to 34.154 million in 2025 from 32.041 million in 2024, while the number of unemployed increased slightly to 2.136 million from 2.113 million.

Urban unemployment rose to 9.8 per cent in 2025 from 9.6 per cent in 2024, while rural unemployment fell to 3.5 per cent from 4.2 per cent . Male unemployment stood at 5.9 per cent in urban areas and 2.1 per cent in rural areas, while female unemployment reached 22.5 per cent in urban areas and 8.8 per cent in rural areas.

Employment rose to 32.018 million in 2025 from 29.928 million in 2024. Wage employees accounted for 67.7 per cent of total employment, followed by the self-employed, employers and unpaid family workers.

By sector, employment was highest in agriculture and fishing at 6.574 million, followed by wholesale and retail trade at 5.236 million, manufacturing at 4.311 million and construction at 3.631 million.

The labour force participation rate rose to 46.2 per cent in 2025 from 44.2 per cent in 2024, with higher participation among males than females.