The research was prepared by the Central Administration of Statistics of Lebanon and the International Labor Organization, and revealed that the unemployment rate in the country grew from 11.4 percent in 2018-2019 to 29.6 in January this year.

According to survey, the informal economy accounted for about 60 percent of employment; the underutilized workforce, meanwhile, grew from 16.2 in 2018-2019 to 50.1 in January 2022.

The study indicated that a third of workers lost their jobs in the first month of 2022 as a result of years of financial mismanagement that brought the Lebanese pound down to 5 percent of its original value and placed four out of five people in poverty.

Just this week, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier de Schutter, branded Lebanon a failed state due to the destructive actions, impunity and corruption of political and financial leaders.

On the other hand, the head of the Hezbollah (Party of God) Executive Council Hashem Safi al-Din blamed the United States for besieging and preventing the Lebanese from building a real and sustainable economy.

In the midst of this scenario, the Lebanese are called to vote this Sunday, May 15th during the parliamentary elections, in a process that most receive with skepticism due to the lack of a government capable of promoting economic recovery.

pgh/llp/jcm/yma