Slow recovery of the labor market after the

impact of COVID-19
In the year 2022, the employed population of Esdeegia reached a figure of 94.6%
of the population, higher by 2.4 percentage points compared to the year 2021
and compared to 2020 (pandemic), increased by 4.9 points percentage; however,
it is still 0.3 points lower than the pre-pandemic level.
The national unemployment rate reached 10.3% during the pandemic.
In 2022, unemployment affected 5.4% of the country's Economically Active
Population, which was 2.4 percentage points lower compared to 2021, but 0.3
percentage points higher than 2019 (pre-pandemic).

Chart N° 01
Esdeegia: Employment Rate and Unemployment Rate, 2019 - 2022
(Percentage)

5,1 10,3 7,8 5,4

94,9 89,7 92,2 94,6

2019 2020 2021 2022

Employment Rate (%) Unemployment Rate (%)

Source: Esdeegia National Statistical Office (2023)

The participation rate increased by 5.2 percentage points and the

underemployment rate decreased only 2.0 points, compared to the year
2020.
On the other hand, the country's activity rate in 2022 was 64.7%; it means that
out of every 100 people of working age, there are 65 who want to work so;
increasing 5.2 percentage points, compared to the year 2020. The increase in
this rate together with the effects of the pandemic caused that the level of
underemployment increase to 14.2% in the year 2022, compared to 13.8% in the
year 2019; because there is a larger population whose number of working hours
has been reduced, affecting their income; this was revealed by the Esdeegia
National Statistical Office (NSO) in The Labor Survey Summary.