PM: Egypt's Unemployment Rates Reach Lowest Level in History at 5.8%

The unemployment rate fell to 5.8% last month, the lowest level on record, according to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

Speaking during a meeting led by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Strategic Command headquarters in the New Capital, Madbouly said increasing employment, particularly among women, and raising worker productivity remain priorities. He pointed to information and communications technology and advanced industries as sectors with strong potential for creating higher-quality, more sustainable jobs.

Madbouly also said economic growth reached 5.1% in FY2025/26, while inflation eased to 12.7% last month from 23.2% in January 2025. Foreign-currency resources strengthened between January and August, with remittances from Egyptians abroad rising 32% to around USD 35 billion, alongside recovering Suez Canal revenues and continued growth in tourist arrivals.

On public finances, the primary surplus reached 4.9% of GDP in the last fiscal year. State revenues rose 32%, including a 27% increase in tax revenues without higher tax rates. Budget-sector public debt fell to 81.8% of GDP from around 96% two years earlier, with a target of 78% this fiscal year and a longer-term goal of 75%.

Budget-sector external debt stood at USD 76.1 billion on June 30th, down from USD 79.1 billion two years earlier, while net international reserves rose to USD 57.2 billion from USD 49.2 billion a year earlier.