The International Labor Organization (ILO) has recently published a report titled “Arab State Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2024” where it shed the light on the status of the labor market in the Arab region, commenting in this regard that unlike other economic indicators, those related to the labor market are yet to return to their pre-pandemic levels. As far as Lebanon is concerned, the report first commented that the plethora of crises that have rampaged Lebanon recently have had a detrimental effect on the labor market, with the unemployment rate skyrocketing from 11.4% in 2019 to a “concerning” 29.6% in 2022, with job losses amounting to a woeful 27.7% of the employment stock that prevailed in 2019. Accordingly, the employment to population ratio shed double digits to attain 30.6% in 2022 down from 43.3% in 2019. Said anemic figures, coupled with the elevated inflation levels, led to difficult socio-economic levels, with 85% of Lebanese encountering difficulties in meeting their financial obligations and 62% defining their financial situation as “very difficult”. Said grim conditions have instigated another brain drain wave especially among doctors, engineers, academics and entrepreneurs, while noting that a year 2021 poll pointed out that the number of people that are expressing a “strong desire” to permanently leave Lebanon reached 63%, compared to a pre-crisis level of 26%. Said migration waves have acted as a double-edged sword for Lebanon, with remittances that act as a lifeline for families standing at 37.8% of GDP in 2022 (highest level in the MENA region and third highest globally), yet depriving the country of valuable human resources. Always in the same vein, the report commented that more worryingly, long-term unemployment (i.e. people who have been unemployed for a year or more) in Lebanon has reached 48.9% of the total unemployment stock in 2022, compared to 46.7% in Jordan and 39.5% in Palestine. The ILO added that not only long-term unemployment leads to a prolonged financial drain on the concerned individuals and their families, it also leads to a loss of skills (which diminishes the prospects of finding another job) and to increased mental health issues and social unrest. The report added that youth (aged between 15 and 24) unemployment levels are even more drastic, standing at 47.8% in Lebanon (the highest level in the Arab world) in 2022, compared to 45.9% in Syria, 42.0% in Jordan and 27.7% in the Arab world (four times the adult unemployment levels). Similarly, the share of male youth who are Not in Employment, Education and Training (NEETS) has attained 26.1% in Lebanon, compared to 24.3% and 22.1% in Palestine and Iraq on a respective basis, commenting in this regard that said high rates may lead to social unrest. Always according to the ILO, disparity in wages varies significantly across different regions, with said levels widening the further we move away from Beirut. In figures, the report pointed out that 15.6% and 15.2% of employees were classified as low-paid workers in Beirut and Mount Lebanon on a respective basis in 2022, with the rate more than doubling across the remaining governorates and peaking in Akkar (one of the country’s poorest regions). The gender gap issue is also prevalent in Lebanon and other Arab countries, with said gap standing at 27.6% in Lebanon for people with elementary level education, and 18.1%, 13.6% and 18.5% for those with intermediate, secondary and university level education respectively. On the other hand, the report noted that Lebanon enjoys the highest level (26.7% in 2022) of women in managerial positions, compared to 23.6% in the U.A.E., 21.1% in Palestine, 17.5% in Iraq and just 4.5% in Yemen. Lebanon’s labor market is also plagued by the pervasiveness of excessively long working hours, with 32.9% of the population (one of the highest levels in the region) falling into this category. The labor market issues in Lebanon are not only from a demand side, but from a supply side as well with 88% of tech companies in Lebanon reporting difficulty in finding suitable candidates. Finally, the ILO pointed out that Lebanon’s labor market issues have been exasperated by external factors as well. Said factors include the influx of refugees (one of the highest refugee per capita levels globally), and the propagation of the Gaza war and its repercussions on the country, resulting in more than 86,000 displaced people, and leading to a contraction in real GDP between 0.6% and 0.9% in 2023.