Tunisian Graduates Demand Public Jobs as Economic Hardship Deepens
High unemployment and strained infrastructure fuel growing public frustration across Tunisia, prompting protest marches and calls for job legislation to be enforced.
At a glance
- Tunisian graduates staged a 300km protest march demanding the implementation of a 2025 law granting them public sector jobs.
- Graduate unemployment stood at 26.6 percent in the second quarter of 2026, reaching 35.6 percent among female graduates.
- Thousands protested in Tunis on October 17 against economic decline, joblessness, and service cuts under President Kais Saied.
TUNIS — Unemployed university graduates in Tunisia are stepping up pressure on the government to secure state jobs, highlighting a severe economic crisis that continues to leave millions without stable livelihoods.
On September 27, a group of unemployed graduates launched the "Dignity March," walking roughly 300 kilometres from Menzel Bouzaiane in central Tunisia toward the capital, Tunis. Starting with 23 participants, the march grew to more than 120 people before police stopped the group on October 6 in Borj Cedria, south of the capital. Authorities informed participants that they could only proceed individually, preventing the collective group from reaching the presidential palace in Carthage.
The marchers demanded the implementation of Law No. 18, enacted in late December 2025, which mandates exceptional public-sector recruitment for long-term unemployed graduates over a three-year phase. A previous measure passed in 2022, Law No. 38, stalled due to state budget shortfalls. Graduates and union advocates, including the Tunisian Union of Higher Education Graduates, argue that authorities have frequently offered legislative pledges to defuse unrest without providing actionable hiring schedules or transparent digital platforms.
Deepening Unemployment and Discontent
The protest comes amid broader social anger over deteriorating living conditions, inflation, and power and water outages. On October 17, thousands of people assembled in Tunis for a demonstration led by the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), opposition figures, and civil society groups. Protesters criticised President Kais Saied's government for failing to revive the economy while consolidating political power since 2021.
Official figures from Tunisia's National Institute of Statistics show the national unemployment rate reached 14.9 percent in the second quarter of 2026. Joblessness is far more acute among young people and educated citizens: the unemployment rate stood at 26.6 percent for university graduates, rising to 35.6 percent for female graduates compared to 14.2 percent for men. Among young people aged 15 to 24, unemployment stood at 35.4 percent.
Economists point out that modest economic expansion—growing 2.7 percent in 2025 and projected by the World Bank at 2.3 percent for 2026—has not generated enough employment. Deficits in investment, poorly maintained infrastructure, and bureaucratic obstacles in disadvantaged interior regions have hampered private enterprise, leaving many young Tunisians contemplating emigration.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- What was the Dignity March in Tunisia?
- It was a roughly 300km march by unemployed university graduates that began in Menzel Bouzaiane on September 27 and was stopped by police near Tunis on October 6.
- What is the unemployment rate for graduates in Tunisia?
- According to official second-quarter 2026 data, graduate unemployment stood at 26.6 percent, with rates reaching 35.6 percent for women graduates.
- What is Law No. 18 in Tunisia?
- Law No. 18, published in December 2025, provides for the phased recruitment of long-term unemployed university graduates into the public sector over up to three years.
