The economic expert professor Jasim Ajaqa disclosed that unemployment in Lebanon exceeds 35%, pointing that out of 30 thousand graduates each year, only 3 thousand work in their field of study. Ajaqa told An Nahar newspaper that the published unemployment estimates are not accurate, sustaining that the World Bank and the IMF do not give the real figures, which remain according to their expectations at the threshold of 6%. The reason for that is the lack of a scientific and tangible definition for unemployment, like for example, the person who works one or two hours daily and receives money is counted on the Lebanese workforce, according to WB standards, while in reality he is on the dole, Ajaqa explained. What exacerbates the gravity of such figures, Ajaqa noted, is a joint study released recently by the labor ministry, the Social Security Fund and Kodorat Association which uncovered that unemployment has exceeded 36% and is soaring to 46% in Akkar, Baalbaq and Hermel, and to 42% among the 18-24 age group. Ajaqa also mentioned the considerable size of the foreign labor force in the country, especially in the absence of declaration by owners of institutions about the number of their non-Lebanese staff. Moreover, he added, the euphoric expectations around the Cedar donor conference which gave priority to infrastructure projects, might not have a stake for Lebanon’s youth, firstly because many Lebanese might not work in these undertakings, and secondly, because young graduates are over qualified to take these jobs. Unemployment here has reached dangerous levels, be it disguised or visible, Ajaqa warned, concluding, “what an economic catastrophe for a nation that has no future for its young generation or at least, for a nation whose youth is jobless”. (An Nahar, July 6, 2018)
