The labour market and the poor in egypt: jobs indequacy and employment generation policies

Abstract

Employment inadequacy has increased in Egypt and the poor are expected to suffer relatively more than the other income groups from this situation. The implementation of the Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Program (ERSAP) on the national level, and the implications of globalization on the international level are important causes for rising employment inadequacy in the economy. On the other hand, social policies are applied by the government to create employment and generate income for the poor in Egypt. The objective of this study is to provide answers for three questions regarding the status of the poor with respect to employment inadequacy in the society, and how do they behave to survive this situation. First, does poverty increase the exposure of labour to employment inadequacy; i.e., are the poor more vulnerable to unemployment as compared to the rest of the labour force? Second, what are the social policies applied that target employment creation and income generation for the poor? Third, how do the poor cope with employment and, hence, income inadequacy? However, before attempting to answer these questions the status of employment inadequacy in Egypt will be reviewed.