The Ghost of Unemployment in Egypt Essay Example

inability to offer sufficient employment opportunities for college graduates. As per a report issued by the Shura Council's Human Resource Committee, it is anticipated that the labor force will hit 20 million by 2000 (Farag 1), thereby underscoring the government's incapacity to tackle this problem.

In the past five years, Nader El-Fergany, head of Almishkat Research Center, discovered that around 700,000 new job opportunities were created. Nevertheless, yearly generation of this quantity is crucial to accommodate all new entrants (Farag 1). The World Bank approximates that the labor market should produce 500,000 fresh jobs per year for a few more years to absorb recent entries and decrease the current level of unemployment backlog (Egypt 1).

The issue of rapid population growth in Egypt has led to the implementation of a birth control program by its government. Prime Minister Atef Ebeid has reported that there has been considerable advancement, predicting a decrease in the rate of birth increase from 2% to 1.5% within ten years. Additionally, it is anticipated that the average number of individuals per family will reduce to 4.6.

The information suggests that the government's efforts in implementing birth control measures have resulted in a lack of population growth and a subsequent decrease in annual unemployment percentages. This is particularly evident in rural areas where high birth rates were previously prevalent. However, joblessness persists as one of Egypt's primary issues due to privatization through the Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Program.

Privatization of the public sector, aimed at improving employee wages and work standards, has resulted in a significant increase in unemployment. A study by the Egyptian Center for Economics Studies shows that privatization has had an

adverse impact on employment, according to Mona El-Fiqi (1). Furthermore, economics professor and research center dean at Sadat Academy for Administrative Science Hamdi Abdel-Azim expresses concern over the removal of around 20,000 workers from their public sector positions due to privatization (El-Fiqi 1).

Abdel-Fadil has expressed worry regarding the hazards that privatization poses to public sector employees, who are apprehensive about potential job losses. Additionally, he drew attention to the outcomes of a survey conducted on Egypt's unemployment issue, where he pointed out that the government is presently the biggest employer, responsible for generating 42% of employment opportunities in contrast to the non-agricultural private sector's 33.8%. (Farag 2).

Hamdi Abdel-Azim claims that privatization has caused an increase in unemployment rates. Each year, there are 450,000 people seeking jobs but only 150,000 job opportunities available within the private sector. Consequently, an additional 300,000 individuals become unemployed each year on top of those laid off by public sector companies. Overpopulation and privatization are the main factors contributing to unemployment in Egypt. Although measures to control population growth have been implemented, public sector workers remain worried about potential job loss due to privatization.

Currently proposed solutions to unemployment aim to either better prepare individuals for filling new job vacancies or offer temporary work placements. According to Philpott (218), a combination of these programs is encouraged. The government, including Dr. Atef Ebeid, recognizes the significance of unemployment and job creation in Egypt. In fact, the government has devised a comprehensive plan to create 150,000 new government and private sector jobs and an additional 200,000 jobs in small industries (Arabic News). Furthermore, Egypt is undertaking ambitious initiatives such as the Toshka project and

the reclamation of the desert in Sinai to combat unemployment.

The completion of the Toshka project will contribute to addressing unemployment by providing numerous job opportunities for those without work. According to Naguib Mahfouz, the project's completion will facilitate the creation of a renewed Egypt that can address multiple issues such as the shortage of cultivable land, inadequate housing, and unemployment.