![Tunisians protest over unemployment and poverty and clash with security forces in the central town of Kasserine on January 21, 2016 [MOHAMED KHALIL/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-506079806-scaled-e1614701067343.jpg?fit=1199%2C800&ssl=1)
Tunisia’s National Institute of Statistics said the unemployment rate in the country has risen to 18.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2021 where the number of unemployed persons reached 762,600.
The institute explained that the unemployment rate increased 0.5 points for both sexes, reaching 15.9 per cent for males and 24.1 per cent for females, amid the political and economic crisis experienced by the country since President Kais Saied dissolved the previous government and suspended parliament in July.
On Tuesday, the Tunisian General Labour Union accused all parties to the crisis, including Saied, of evading dialogue, and reiterated its call to start implementing a road map to address the current crisis.
“Time has come to clarify the road map, and start implementing its provisions,” Assistant Secretary-General in charge of media affairs in the Labour Union, Sami Al-Tahri, told Essahafa newspaper, stressing that “the period of silence and waiting has taken too long, and any political arena in the world cannot tolerate such a vacuum.”
Meanwhile, Tunisian Minister of Employment and Vocational Training and government spokesman, Nasreddine Nsibi, said the government is committed to implementing any agreements reached with the union including raising the minimum wage, even in light of the country’s financial crisis.