?Unemployment in Lebanon…Where to

Lebanon has gone through many economic, social, political and security problems. These problems have significant and clear impact on its economic structure. One of these problems is Unemployment. Unemployment in Lebanon is not a new phenomenon, but it has reached its peak in the past three years. Unemployment has been classified as one of the most serious impediments to the economic progress. It is a massive waste of the nation's human resources. The proportion of people who are employed in Lebanon has decreased by more than 5%, from 48.8% in 2018-2019 to 43.4% in January 2022 (ILO, 2022).

Digging deeper into more details about unemployment rate in Lebanon, the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS) in Lebanon conducted a Labour Force Survey in January 2022. That was the first time CAS had ever undertaken a household-based telephone survey. This Labour Force Survey was supported technically and financially by the ILO Regional Office for Arab States. The survey had a sample size of 5,444 homes, provided estimates for each of Lebanon's eight governorates, including Beirut, Mount Lebanon, North Lebanon, Akkar, Bekaa, Baalbek-Hermel, South Lebanon, and Nabatieh. According to the survey, the national labor force participation rate (LFPR) which measures the proportion of people who are employed or looking for work, has decreased from 48.8% in 2018-2019 to 43.4% in January 2022. The employment to population ratio, which compares the labor force's current employment to the entire population of working age, is frequently used as a gauge of how well a country's economy is doing at giving its people jobs. According to the survey, it was 43.3% in Lebanon in 2018–2019, but it decreased to 30.6% in January 2022. The ratio is higher for men (47.4%) than for women (15%), and lower for youth (17.9%) than for adults (34.2%). The survey's findings showed that Lebanon's unemployment rate grew from 11.4% in 2018-2019 to 29.6% in January 2022. In January 2022 over one-third of the country's labor force was unemployed. The unemployment rate for women is 32.7% which is higher than males’ unemployment rate which is 28.4%, while the youth rate (47.8%) is almost twice the adult rate (25.6%) (ILO, 2022).

Lebanon is still facing many problems that led to high unemployment rate. This continues to affect a wide segment of the Lebanese people who have fallen below the poverty line because of the decline in employment opportunities. Here are some recommendations to decrease unemployment in Lebanon:

1. Providing the necessary finance for small and medium enterprises can help in decreasing unemployment rate. These small and medium enterprises help fresh graduates to achieve their ambitions instead of immigrating to countries that help them in implementing their own projects and businesses.

2. The educational institutions and the concerned authorities should coordinate and cooperate with the Lebanese labour market in order to introduce the students in particular to the required specializations in the labor market. This leads the fresh graduates to avoid seeking for a job with specializations that are not required in the labor market.

3. Work on training the students in parallel with their first years of studying in their specializations. Thus, when they graduate they will get certificate, experience and knowledge in their specializations. This gives them a great opportunity to be accepted in any job related to their majors because they will have a good previous experience.

4. Attract foreign direct investments, since they will improve the country’s economic performance, and they will create jobs for unemployed people. Moreover, they enhance people’s standards of living. One of the bigger advantages of the foreign direct investments is that they concentrate on improving the performance of the country's service and manufacturing.

Since employment is a key source of identity and an organizational frame for daily life in our cultures, unemployed individuals suffer psychological and social distress. It is well researched that unemployment is connected with negative health consequences. Unemployment leads to stress-related illnesses and a lowered self-esteem as a result of unmet the people needs. “Delays in the implementation of a comprehensive reform and recovery plan will only further compound human and social capital losses and render the recovery longer and costlier," said Jean-Christophe Carret, World Bank Middle East Country Director.