Population Council Research that makes a difference

Youth unemployment is one of Egypt’s foremost challenges today. The age structure of Egypt’s population, with its large cohorts of young people, creates great pressure on the national economy to absorb youth into the workforce. Recent structural adjustment reforms have brought about a shrinking public sector and meanwhile failed to create enough jobs in the private sector.

In previous research on youth livelihoods, Council researchers explored opportunities for wage work among young women using Egypt Labor Market Survey data and in-depth case studies. An important conclusion of this research, completed in 2001, was that unemployment rates are high and rising among young women, with young men being twice as likely to be employed as young women. Although increasing numbers of women are now being educated, marrying at older ages, and seeking paid employment, they seem to be less successful than young men in finding work. Despite the fact that opportunities are shrinking and the conditions and security of work are deteriorating, the study documented signs that work remains a positive force of social change for women.

Current research seeks to explore further the social context of young people’s entry into the labor market. The study will solicit the perspectives and experiences of employed and unemployed youth in order to ascertain the determinants and consequences of both states. A detailed inquiry into employers’ attitudes, values, and hiring practices will also be carried out.

This qualitative study of young people’s workforce participation in Egypt aims to:

• explore the range of employment opportunities available to youth, with special attention given to the difference between options for young men and young women;
• understand the process of entry into the workforce and determine the conditions and strategies that lead to successful employment outcomes for youth;
• identify the challenges to workforce entry that youth in Egypt face, in particular, barriers to employment posed by employers, whose hiring practices may discriminate against young people, especially women; and
• understand the social and economic consequences of employment and unemployment for young people.