US Jobs Growth Causes a Suprise but in Lebanon Things are Different

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia issued the following statement on the November 2019 Employment Situation report:

"The November jobs report vastly outpaced predictions, with 266,000 jobs created. With 41,000 jobs in upward revisions for September and October, 6.6 million total jobs have been created since January 2017.

"The unemployment rate of 3.5% matched the September 2019 rate, a level that has not been achieved since 1969. November 2019 marks the 21st consecutive month in which the unemployment rate has been at or below 4%.

"Year-over-year wages have grown at or above 3.0% for 16 straight months. It is encouraging to see sectors like retail and leisure and hospitality leading wage growth.

Meanwhile in the Leabanon things are very different. 

Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus is west across the Mediterranean Sea. Unemployment Rate in Lebanon is expected to be 6.60 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts’ expectations. In the long-term, the Lebanon Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 6.60 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.

Lebanon has a competitive and free market regime and a strong laissez-faire commercial tradition. The Lebanese economy is service-oriented; main growth sectors include banking and tourism. There are no restrictions on foreign exchange or capital movement.

1.5 million individuals living on less than 4 dollars a day or 120 dollars a month, struggling to make ends meet from rent, food, and healthcare, as illustrated by the UNDP's 'Rapid Poverty Assessment in Lebanon' in 2016. 

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