ESCWA Publication: E/ESCWA/CL2.GPID/2026/TP.2
Country: Lebanese Republic
Publication Type: Information material
Cluster: Gender Justice, Population and Inclusive Development
Focus Area: Inclusive development, Future of employment, Technology & innovation
Initiatives: Reducing inequalities, Job creation, Digital Development
SDGs: Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Keywords: Artificial intelligence, Big data, Economic conditions, Economic crisis, Informal sector, Labour market, Labour supply, Lebanon, Skills development, Social conditions, Technical cooperation, Unemployment
Lebanon at a skills crossroads: big data insights into labour market demand after six years of crisis
September 2026
The present paper analyses the Lebanese labour market and evolving skills demand after six years of compounded economic, social and geopolitical crises, using big data from online job advertisements processed through the ESCWA Skills Monitor. In the context of severe economic contraction, rising unemployment, informality and accelerated brain drain, the study provides a data-driven assessment of how skill requirements have shifted between 2020 and 2025.
The analysis reveals a labour market still dominated by traditional service and business occupations, alongside the emergence of selected digital, information and communication technology (ICT), and artificial intelligence-related skills linked to Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. However, it also identifies a structural decline in overall ICT skill demand and weakening digital-sector momentum, reflecting the country’s constrained investment climate and infrastructure limitations. By combining macroeconomic context with granular skills intelligence, the present paper demonstrates how big data can compensate for weak statistical systems and support evidence-based policymaking. It concludes that recovery in Lebanon depends on aligning macroeconomic stabilization with human-capital development, targeted digital skills investment and institutionalized skills intelligence systems to rebuild a resilient, inclusive and future-ready labour market.
Related content
Inclusive development, Future of employment, Technology & innovation
The present paper analyses the Lebanese labour market and evolving skills demand after six years of compounded economic, social and geopolitical crises, using big data from online job advertisements processed through the ESCWA Skills Monitor. In the context of severe economic contraction, rising unemployment, informality and accelerated brain drain, the study provides a data-driven assessment of how skill requirements have shifted between 2020 and 2025.
The analysis reveals a labour market still dominated by traditional service and business occupations, alongside the emergence of selected digital, information and communication technology (ICT), and artificial intelligence-related skills linked to Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. However, it also identifies a structural decline in overall ICT skill demand and weakening digital-sector momentum, reflecting the country’s constrained investment climate and infrastructure limitations. By combining macroeconomic context with granular skills intelligence, the present paper demonstrates how big data can compensate for weak statistical systems and support evidence-based policymaking. It concludes that recovery in Lebanon depends on aligning macroeconomic stabilization with human-capital development, targeted digital skills investment and institutionalized skills intelligence systems to rebuild a resilient, inclusive and future-ready labour market.
