The Egyptian Youth Labor Market School-to-Work Transition, 1988–2006

Abstract

This chapter examines the insertion of youth into the Egyptian labor market and explores to what extent the school-to-work transition has changed over time (1988–2006). Young people are defined in this study as those aged between 15–29. The analysis of the youth labor market situation is of particular importance. The chapter also uses three comparable labor market surveys, namely the Labor Force Sample Survey 1988 (LFSS 1988), the Egyptian Labor Market Survey 1998 (ELMS 1998), and the very recent Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey 2006 (ELMPS 2006). It is shown that female participation decreased while male labor-force participation increased. Unemployment rates sharply decreased among both young men and women, especially among the 20–24-year-olds and the less educated. Unemployment rates substantially increased among post-secondary and university graduates, who became the group most vulnerable to unemployment. Education also played a key role in women's entry into the labor market. In general, the study has highlighted that Egyptian youth have experienced some improvements and some added difficulties to their efforts to enter the Egyptian labor market.