Female Workforce in Algeria Exceeds 3 million Mark

March 5, 2025

(3 Minutes Read)

Women hold 55% of professional positions, 48.9% of administrative positions and 38.1% of intermediate positions. Their numbers are lowest in skilled industrial occupations (16.6%) and senior management (11.6%).

The female workforce exceeded the three million mark for the first time, reaching 3,163,000, or 22.9% of the total. The labour force participation rate is estimated at 41.7%, with a marked difference between men (63.9%) and women (19.2%). The national employment rate is 36.4%, but varies widely by gender (58.2% for men and 14.3% for women).

Female employment in Algeria is mainly concentrated in public administration, health, social action and manufacturing, accounting for 75.2% of jobs held by women. Close to 76.8% of working women are salaried employees, compared with 68.9% for the population as a whole. The public sector employs 58% of the female workforce, while the private sector absorbs 61.2% of total employment.

The national unemployment rate is 12.7%, particularly affecting young people (29.3%). Unemployment among women (25.4%) is significantly higher than among men (9%). Of the 1,759,000 unemployed, 42.5% have no qualifications, 31.4% have a university degree and 26.1% have vocational training. Furthermore, 59.3% of the unemployed have been looking for work for over a year.

Finally, the sectoral breakdown of employment shows that 17.4% of the workforce works in public administration (excluding health), 15.5% in health and social services, 15.3% in trade, 14% in construction and 13.6% in manufacturing. The agricultural sector accounts for 9% of total employment.