On Wednesday, the World Bank reported that the unemployment rate in Libya remains high, at more than 19%, with 85% of the population employed in the public sector.
Despite facing significant challenges, Libya has enormous potential for reconstruction, and diversification of its economic activities. This potential is supported by the nation’s substantial financial resources.
The Bank observed that the Libyan economy has the resilience to weather instability. Estimates suggest that last year saw a contraction of 1.2%. Furthermore, the prices of food items increased by 38% by the end of 2022, and electricity prices rose by 4% at the same time.
In 2022, Libyan economic researcher, Ali Saleh told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that there has been a rise in the unemployment rate every year. “The public sector suffers from random appointments and job overcrowding, while the employees in the private sector lose their rights,” he said.
He estimated that the unemployment rate in the Libyan labour market is about 19%, but local institutions believe that it exceeds 30%.
Saleh explained that the number of job seekers did not exceed 128,000 in 2020, and this number doubled to 250,000 in 2022.
The population in 2020 was about 7.4 million, with 2.4 million government employees, equivalent to 32% of the total population.
Regarding the state’s general budget, the Bank stated that the government registered a surplus of 2.8% of the total GDP, a drop compared to 2021, which constituted 10.6%. The World Bank attributed the decrease in surplus to increased government spending, particularly a 42% increase in the wage bill.
In a previous report, the World Bank highlighted the necessity for a short to medium-term vision in Libya to manage political, economic, and social containment, addressing concerns over power division.
The Bank clarified that Libya “needs to transition from a centrally planned economy towards a culture of private companies and from an energy economy to a diversified one.”
It’s worth noting that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission predicts a growth rate of 23% for the Libyan economy in 2023, the fastest in the Middle East, contingent upon the continued stability of oil and gas production.
