The Egyptian Youth Labor Market School-To-Work Transition 1998-2006

The main purpose of the study is to analyze the insertion of the youth (15-29 year-olds) into the Egyptian labor market and whether the patterns of school-to-work transition changed over time (1988-2006). The analysis is based on three nationally representative and comparable Egyptian labor market data sets: the 1988 Labor Force Sample Survey, the 1998 Egyptian Labor Market Survey and the 2006 Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey. The paper presents a brief overview of the main characteristics of Egyptian youth. It shows that the share of the youth aged 15-29 grew significantly from 1988 to 2006 and that the Egyptian labor market is currently facing a big challenge: creating sufficient jobs for the largest cohort of new entrants ever. It identifies what young people are doing right after leaving school and gives an indication of youth labor market mobility by comparing their current and first employment statuses after leaving school. The paper then goes on to analyze the main characteristics of the first job obtained (age at first job, duration to obtain the first job after finishing school, type of first job) by gender and educational attainment from 1998 to 2006. In conclusion, the findings show that the youth labor market is clearly segmented with regards to gender. While young males tend to participate more and obtain their first job at younger ages, young females participate less and it seems that their employment situation worsened over time.