Mohamed
ElBaradei, candidate for the Egyptian presidency, said the country needs to
take urgent steps to prevent economic collapse amidst the current instability. In particular, Egypt needs to bring back foreign
investment, stimulate industrial activities, and create new job opportunities
in the short term if the economy is to be saved.
The
head of the transitional government is striving to revive mega projects that
were launched prior to the revolution. However,
economists believe his efforts are in vain due to the significantly reduced
funds available to finance these projects. The
shortage of financing can be traced to successive economic fiascoes, the most
important of which is the collapse of tourism revenue.
A
report released by the Egyptian Central Agency showed that unemployment rate
jumped to 12 percent in the third quarter of 2011, compared to 9 percent of the same period
of 2010. According to the report, the
number of Egyptian university graduates is 316,000, of which 55 percent are
female. Due to incongruities between
university curricula and market demands, most graduates seek jobs with the
state rather than the private sector. Corruption
during the Mubarak regime often meant that nepotism rather than credentials was
the key to finding employment. As a
result, most Egyptian youth work in low-skill jobs that do not match their
educational qualifications
Economic
expert Reda Essa stated that creating new job opportunities in Egypt
is dependent on direct government action. He said that the state must stimulate
investment and loosen the private sector’s grip on investments. Such measures should be implemented as soon as
possible in order to meet the post-revolutionary expectations of Egyptian youth.