Algeria's Labour and Social Security Minister Tayeb Louh told a plenary session of the People's National Assembly on Monday (October 16th) that efforts made by the government since 2001 in investments through the economic revival support programmes resulted in the creation of 2.4m jobs at the end of 2005. The programmes concerned the sectors of construction and public works, hydraulics and agriculture, the major sources of jobs, according to Louh.

In June, the government announced plans to create 609,543 direct jobs this year, giving priority to youth employment. Algeria's unemployment rate reached 15.3% at the end of 2005, out of 9.66 million eligible people. The unemployment rate is 75% among people under the age of 30 (up from 73% in 2004), while 430,000 university graduates are currently unemployed. The government plans to create another 2 million jobs by 2009 as part of a $60 billion five-year spending programme aimed at improving infrastructure, supporting small and medium enterprises and stimulating growth.

Social minister says 2.4 million jobs created in 2001-2005 in Algeria