Job insecurity and unemployment on the rise

ENAR

Businesses across all sectors in Lebanon, and the employees that are at their foundation, are suffering under a weakening economy. Indicators of this reality are in full display across the country and include the long lines in front of banks most mornings, the “for rent” signs now vying with the “70 percent sale” signs for space on store fronts, the restaurants and bars that only operate four days a week or have closed down permanently, and the reduced working hours of many factories and offices in Lebanon. All of which, according to those interviewed for this article, is just the beginning. Although there is no reliable data regarding the current rate of unemployment in Lebanon and the impacts of the unfolding crisis, the World Bank warned at the end of last year that “unemployment, especially among youth, is already high and could further rise sharply” and that the poverty rate