Demand for unskilled Egyptian labour rises

Egypt's total index of demand for Egyptian labour, whether local or external, increased by 10 points year-on-year to reach in November 2011 159 points. The majority of demand is for unskilled labour, according to the Egyptian Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Centre's monthly bulletin of economic and social indicators. The monthly bulletin also reported that demand for the highly educated and postgraduates declined 53 points year-on-year, reaching 53 points in November 2011, similar to the index of intermediate and above intermediate educated, which dipped 83 points in November 2011. Egypt's employment opportunities offered by the private and investment sectors slumped 55 per cent year-on-year, totaling 3500 jobs in November 2011, according to the national bulletin of employment. In addition, the opportunities offered by the local development fund shrunk by 49 per cent year-on-year to reach 369 in November 2011, comparing to 721 jobs last year. The Social Fund for Development's job opportunities rose 18.4 per cent year-on-year, offering 25,500 in September 2011 compared to 21,500 jobs in November 2011.