Foreign workers dominate Lebanese job market

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine

In industrial cities and other establishments, young people from Akkar and other regions work in various professions. 

However, they do not constitute the majority. The labor market here also heavily relies on foreign labor.

Major factories, for instance, have Lebanese administrators, but most workers are non-Lebanese. Officials in these factories say they have tried to hire Lebanese workers but have not always succeeded.

Despite calls to expel Syrians from Bourj Hammoud and other areas, and despite clear requests from businesses to hire Lebanese men and women, many clothing stores, for example, do not find the need to do so.

 

For years, the agricultural sector in the Beqaa has relied on Syrian labor. Landowners depend on Syrian agricultural workshops to manage operations and handle planting and harvesting.

 

Lebanese citizens do not work in all professions and sectors, and it is not easy for the job market to find alternatives to non-Lebanese workers. According to the International Labor Organization, Lebanon's labor market relies on more than one million non-Lebanese workers.

 

The majority are estimated to be around 700,000 Syrian workers, in addition to approximately 70,000 Palestinian workers and about 95,000 workers from various Arab and other nationalities, such as Ethiopian, Filipino, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi, and others who have obtained work permits. 

 

There is also a parallel workforce currently working illegally without permits. Seasonal workers must also be considered. All of these workers collectively contribute to more than $1.1 billion annually from Lebanon.

 

Lebanon's job market needs more involvement from Lebanese citizens in all sectors and professions. It requires initiatives from companies and institutions to employ Lebanese workers, as well as legal protection for the rights of non-Lebanese workers, who constitute a large and essential part of the labor market.