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Unemployment in Egypt Drops to 2011 levels

Workers remove leather from a machine in the factory at El Robbiki Leather City in Badr City, east of Cairo, Egypt, August 14, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Workers remove leather from a machine in the factory at El Robbiki Leather City in Badr City, east of Cairo, Egypt, August 14, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Unemployment in Egypt Drops to 2011 levels

Workers remove leather from a machine in the factory at El Robbiki Leather City in Badr City, east of Cairo, Egypt, August 14, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Workers remove leather from a machine in the factory at El Robbiki Leather City in Badr City, east of Cairo, Egypt, August 14, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Unemployment rates in Egypt fell during the third quarter of 2017 registering the lowest rate since 2011’s first quarter, as national economic growth.

Egypt's unemployment rate had worsened with a popular uprising to oust former President Hosni Mubarak in January 2011, rising from 8.9 % in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 11.9 in the first quarter of the following year.

However, unemployment fell to 12 % in the first three months of this year, its lowest level in more than five years, and then fell in the following months to 11.9 percent in the third quarter.

The economic growth in the country has been negatively affected by prolonged political instability after the former president stepped down, coupled with the mixed ripple effect of energy crises and global economic slowdown.

However, the International Monetary Fund’s forecasts reflect a relative recovery of the country's economy.

First, growth is expected to rise to 4.5% in the current fiscal year, from 4.1% in 2016 to 2017, and the fiscal year will begin on July 1 and end in June.

According to a statement issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the largest percentage of workers during the third quarter of 2017 was operating in the agriculture and fishing sector, which accounted for 21.4% of total employment.

The wholesale and retail trade sector accounted for 13.5% and the construction sector by 13.3%.

The manufacturing sector registered 12.5 % and the transport and storage sector by 8 %.

According to the latest data available on the Central Bank of Egypt website, economic growth in the period from 2016 to April 2017, the agriculture sector grew by 3.1%, the wholesale and retail sector by 4.7%, while the construction index grew by 8.5%. Manufacturing industries recorded the lowest growth rate among these sectors at 2.7 %.

But despite the fact that youth call for greater opportunities in the economy was one of the most demands at the January 2011 demonstrations, unemployment data for the third quarter of this year reflect the inability of economic growth to respond to these requests.

Statistics indicate that 79.5% of the total unemployed belong to the age group between 15 and 29 years old.

Recent data on the labor market in Egypt show that the majority of those unemployed are holders of intermediate and university degrees, amounting to 92.9%.

According to the Statistics Service, 40.6 % of the unemployed have university qualifications and above, and 52.3 % of those with intermediate qualifications.

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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference on Emerging Market Economies (EME) to enhance cooperation between the two institutions.

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki, SPA reported.

The agreement aims to strengthen coordination in economic and financial policy areas, including surveillance and lending activities, data and analytical exchange, capacity building, and the provision of technical assistance, in support of regional financial and economic stability.

Both sides affirmed that the MoU represents an important step toward deepening their strategic partnership and strengthening the regional financial safety net, serving member countries and enhancing their ability to address economic challenges.

Business

Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
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Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

The Federation of Saudi Chambers announced the formation of the first joint Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council for its inaugural term (1447–1451 AH) and the election of Salman bin Hassan Al-Oqayel as its chairman.

Al-Oqayel said the council’s formation marks a pivotal milestone in economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, reflecting a practical approach to enabling the business sectors in both countries to capitalize on promising investment opportunities and strengthen bilateral trade and investment partnerships, SPA reported.

He noted that trade between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reached approximately SAR9.5 billion by the end of November 2025, including SAR8 billion in Saudi exports and SAR1.5 billion in Kuwaiti imports.

Business

Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Harvard University economics professor Pol Antràs said Saudi Arabia represents an exceptional model in the shifting global trade landscape, differing fundamentally from traditional emerging-market frameworks. He also stressed that globalization has not ended but has instead re-formed into what he describes as fragmented integration.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Antràs said Saudi Arabia’s Vision-driven structural reforms position the Kingdom to benefit from the ongoing phase of fragmented integration, adding that the country’s strategic focus on logistics transformation and artificial intelligence constitutes a key engine for sustainable growth that extends beyond the volatility of global crises.

Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is one of the leading contemporary theorists of international trade. His research, which reshaped understanding of global value chains, focuses on how firms organize cross-border production and how regulation and technological change influence global trade flows and corporate decision-making.

He said conventional classifications of economies often obscure important structural differences, noting that the term emerging markets groups together countries with widely divergent industrial bases. Economies that depend heavily on manufacturing exports rely critically on market access and trade integration and therefore face stronger competitive pressures from Chinese exports that are increasingly shifting toward alternative markets.

Saudi Arabia, by contrast, exports extensively while facing limited direct competition from China in its primary export commodity, a situation that creates a strategic opportunity. The current environment allows the Kingdom to obtain imports from China at lower cost and access a broader range of goods that previously flowed largely toward the United States market.

Addressing how emerging economies should respond to dumping pressures and rising competition, Antràs said countries should minimize protectionist tendencies and instead position themselves as committed participants in the multilateral trading system, allowing foreign producers to access domestic markets while encouraging domestic firms to expand internationally.

He noted that although Chinese dumping presents concerns for countries with manufacturing sectors that compete directly with Chinese production, the risk is lower for Saudi Arabia because it does not maintain a large manufacturing base that overlaps directly with Chinese exports. Lower-cost imports could benefit Saudi consumers, while targeted policy tools such as credit programs, subsidies, and support for firms seeking to redesign and upgrade business models represent more effective responses than broad protectionist measures.

Globalization has not ended

Antràs said globalization continues but through more complex structures, with trade agreements increasingly negotiated through diverse arrangements rather than relying primarily on multilateral negotiations. Trade deals will continue to be concluded, but they are likely to become more complex, with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global trading environment.

Interest rates and artificial intelligence

According to Antràs, high global interest rates, combined with the additional risk premiums faced by emerging markets, are constraining investment, particularly in sectors that require export financing, capital expenditure, and continuous quality upgrading.

However, he noted that elevated interest rates partly reflect expectations of stronger long-term growth driven by artificial intelligence and broader technological transformation.

He also said if those growth expectations materialize, productivity gains could enable small and medium-sized enterprises to forecast demand more accurately and identify previously untapped markets, partially offsetting the negative effects of higher borrowing costs.

Employment concerns and the role of government

The Harvard professor warned that labor markets face a dual challenge stemming from intensified Chinese export competition and accelerating job automation driven by artificial intelligence, developments that could lead to significant disruptions, particularly among younger workers. He said governments must adopt proactive strategies requiring substantial fiscal resources to mitigate near-term labor-market shocks.

According to Antràs, productivity growth remains the central condition for success: if new technologies deliver the anticipated productivity gains, governments will gain the fiscal space needed to compensate affected groups and retrain the workforce, achieving a balance between addressing short-term disruptions and investing in long-term strategic gains.