Maral Tutelian Guidanian, director general of the Central Administration of Statistics, and Ruba Jaradat, the ILO's assistant director-general and regional director for Arab States, present the survey's findings. (Credit: Kabalan Farah/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — A labor force survey conducted in January 2022 showed that almost a third of Lebanon’s labor force is out of work, while the unemployment rate among the youth (15-24 year olds) has reached 47.8 percent. The survey, released Thursday, was conducted by Lebanon’s Central Administration of Statistics alongside the International Labor Organization.
The survey reveals that the unemployment rate increased from 11.4 percent in 2018-19 to 29.6 percent in 2022, while the labor force participation rate dropped from 48.8 percent to 43.4 percent. The unemployment rate increased in all governorates, with the sharpest rise recorded in the Baalbek-Hermel governorate where the rate jumped 30 percentage points, to reach 40.7 percent.
Among the survey’s other findings were:
• Some 50.1 percent of the labor force and the potential labor force in Lebanon was underutilized in some form in January 2022.
• Nearly half of the unemployed are in long-term unemployment, with 29.6 percent having been seeking employment for two years or more, and another 19.2 percent having been seeking employment for between one and two years.
• Average monthly earnings of employees were reported at LL2,300,000 compared to around LL1,200,000 in 2018-19. The average ranges between LL1,300,000 for employees who are functionally literate and LL3,800,000 for employees with a university degree and above.
• The overall share of women in managerial positions recorded a drop of about 2 percentage points to 26.7 percent, down from 28.9 percent in 2018-2019.
• Almost one-third of the female youth population was not in employment, education or in training, a net increase from 2018-2019, at 26.8 percent. A similar change was recorded within the male youth population as the rate increased from 16.7 percent in 2018-2019 to 26.1 percent in January 2022.
• The share of students enrolled in private educational institutions declined from 47.8 percent to 36.9 percent in favor of the public and free private educational institutions.
• The number of residents benefiting from any type of health insurance fell from 56 percent in 2018-19 to 49 percent in 2022.
• Some 83 percent of households in Lebanon said they cannot live without any income even for one month.
• More than half of those surveyed aged 15 years and above expressed a desire to immigrate. The highest rate was recorded within the 15-24 age group (69 percent), while the rate was 66 percent within the 25-44 age group.
The CAS and the ILO released the survey’s results on Thursday at the CAS headquarters in the Hadath area.
The survey’s sample covered 9,459 households, but only 5,444 households responded, resulting in a response rate of 57.6 percent.