Egypt’s unemployment below 10% for first time since 2010 – PM

Egypt’s unemployment rate finally fell below 10 percent, the first time it has been that low since 2010, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said on Wednesday.

The decrease in the unemployment rate was in part due to the ongoing national projects that seek to achieve sustainable development across all sectors in the country, Madbouly told reporters following a Cabinet meeting in Cairo.

The rate has been steadily dropping in recent months amid a programme of economic reforms.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has pledged to reduce joblessness below 10 percent over the next few years, a target that requires higher levels of economic growth.

Egypt signed a $12 billion International Monetary Fund programme in late 2016 aimed at reviving the economy. It has since then floated the pound currency and imposed some harsh economic reforms, including subsidy cuts and tax hikes, as part of the three-year IMF deal.