Unemployment Rate: Lebanon

Analysis# Lebanon Unemployment Rate Lebanon's unemployment rate stood at 11.5% in 2023, reflecting persistent labor market weakness in the country. This figure remains substantially elevated compared to the all-time low of 6.4% recorded in 2009, though it has retreated from the peak of 13.3% in 2020. Over the 32-year period from 1991 to 2023, Lebanon's unemployment has increased by 33.7%, indicating a long-term deterioration in employment conditions. The most dramatic shift occurred between 2019 and 2020, when unemployment surged 2 percentage points to reach its historical high of 13.3%. The subsequent recovery proved incomplete—while the rate declined to 11.6% by 2022, it has plateaued near that level through 2023. The consistent upward trend from 2014 through 2020 (rising from 8.8% to 13.3%) suggests structural challenges in Lebanon's labor market that partial recovery has not resolved.