Tunisia-Unemployment rate reaches 18% in the second quarter of 2020

According to the employment and unemployment indicators of the National Institute of Statistics, published on Saturday, the number of unemployed estimated for the second quarter of 2020 stands at 746.4 thousand of the total working population, against 634.8 thousand unemployed for the first quarter of the same year. Thus, the unemployment rate increases significantly in the second quarter to reach 18%.

It has, moreover, evolved in a proportionally uniform way according to gender, increasing by three percentage points for men and women in the second quarter of 2020 to reach, respectively, 15.2% and 25%.

During these three months, an average of 74.2 thousand people were classified out of the labour force, despite the fact that they wanted to work and were ready and available to start a job. This group was not counted among the unemployed, as they said they were not looking for work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If we add this group of people to the unemployed, the unemployment rate would increase by 1.4 points to 19.4%.

The youth unemployment rate is 36.1%. This rate is estimated at 36% for men and 37.3% for women.

The number of unemployed higher education graduates is estimated on average at 285.4 thousand in the second quarter of 2020 compared to 258.6 thousand in the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 26.8 thousand. The unemployment rate for this category has increased, rising from 28% to 31.2%.

The employment survey for the second quarter of 2020 showed that the number of the active population in Tunisia reached 4,151.0 thousand, against 4200.3 thousand in the first quarter of 2020, a decrease of 49.3 thousand. As a result, the participation rate fell back to 47.4% in the second quarter of 2020, after being around 48% in the first quarter of this year.

The active population is divided into 2961.9 thousand men and 1189.0 thousand women, and the activity rate is respectively 69.4% and 26.4%.
In the second quarter of 2020, the number of employed stood, on average, at 3,404.5 thousand compared to 3,565.5 thousand in the first quarter of 2020, a decrease of 161 thousand. This population is divided into 2512.6 thousand men and 891.9 thousand women.

This drop in the number of employed is distributed according to the situation in the profession as follows: 131.8 thousand for employees, 12 thousand for the self-employed and 17.2 thousand for family helpers.

INS indicators published as part of a survey on “the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Tunisian labor market” showed that 1946.4 thousand employed were not present at their work in April 2020, which represents 58.3% of the total employed. The
The reasons for the absence were linked, in a very large majority, to the covid-19 pandemic, with, in particular, the establishment of general containment between March 22 and May 3, 2020.

The mechanical and electrical industries, hotels and restaurants, construction and public works recorded the highest absenteeism rates, reaching respectively: 93.3%, 90.1% and 82.4%.

While the agriculture and fishing, banking and insurance, mining and energy sectors recorded high rates of
attendance of the highest workplaces, reaching respectively: 79.4%, 68.5% and 53.9%.

Most sectors of economic activity experienced a decrease in the number of employed during the second quarter of 2020. The agricultural sector recorded an average decrease of 11.9 thousand employed and the manufacturing industries sector recorded a decrease of 51.9 thousand occupied. It is the same for the non-manufacturing industries and the service sectors, which recorded a decrease, respectively, of 46.8 thousand and 52.7 thousand employed.

On the other hand, some sectors have experienced virtual stability in the number of employees compared to the first quarter of 2020,
such as the mining and energy sectors, and banking and insurance.

Regarding the wages for the month of April, 47.8% of employees received their salary, compared to 34.4% who did not and 13.1% received only part of the salary.