With the
tractorization of Egyptian agriculture, manual labour became more and more
redundant. The surplus manpower migrated not only to the services and trade
sector (48.6 per cent in 2000/01) but also to the production and construction
sector (23.2 per cent in 2000/01; see Table 9.2). As a rule Egyptians prefer to
invest in the tertiary sector rather than in manufacturing. Capital invested in
trade and in real estate has brought quick and secure returns during recent
decades, but unfortunately has created hardly any job opportunities. In Egypt,
as in many developing countries, the informal sector is of great importance.
It responds very sensitively to changing economic conditions. The retail trade
as well as the crafts industry depend on it. It gives millions of people in the
big cities, especially women and children, who have no other sources of in-
come, an opportunity to earn a livelihood through their own work. The exact
number of people employed in this sector is not known. It should, however,
be no less than the number of those employed in the formal sector. People
can earn more in the informal sector, but payment is usually related to per-
formance, unlike in the formal sector. As a rule there is no social security
and the conditions under which people work may be catastrophic, with child
labour a common trait. Without the existence of the informal sector, however,
the infrastructure of the big cities would collapse totally. This is shown very
clearly by the example of the 50,000 zabbaleen (garbage collectors; see Illus-
tration 25) working in Greater Cairo. They have so far saved the 17 million
or more inhabitants of the capital from suffocating in their own garbage. In
2002/03 the state replaced most of them with Spanish and Italian companies
which do not recycle the solid waste.
tractorization of Egyptian agriculture, manual labour became more and more
redundant. The surplus manpower migrated not only to the services and trade
sector (48.6 per cent in 2000/01) but also to the production and construction
sector (23.2 per cent in 2000/01; see Table 9.2). As a rule Egyptians prefer to
invest in the tertiary sector rather than in manufacturing. Capital invested in
trade and in real estate has brought quick and secure returns during recent
decades, but unfortunately has created hardly any job opportunities. In Egypt,
as in many developing countries, the informal sector is of great importance.
It responds very sensitively to changing economic conditions. The retail trade
as well as the crafts industry depend on it. It gives millions of people in the
big cities, especially women and children, who have no other sources of in-
come, an opportunity to earn a livelihood through their own work. The exact
number of people employed in this sector is not known. It should, however,
be no less than the number of those employed in the formal sector. People
can earn more in the informal sector, but payment is usually related to per-
formance, unlike in the formal sector. As a rule there is no social security
and the conditions under which people work may be catastrophic, with child
labour a common trait. Without the existence of the informal sector, however,
the infrastructure of the big cities would collapse totally. This is shown very
clearly by the example of the 50,000 zabbaleen (garbage collectors; see Illus-
tration 25) working in Greater Cairo. They have so far saved the 17 million
or more inhabitants of the capital from suffocating in their own garbage. In
2002/03 the state replaced most of them with Spanish and Italian companies
which do not recycle the solid waste.
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