Unemployment in Syria

Under Law No. 17/2010, a Syrian national who is able to work, willing to work, seeking work and without a job can register at the public employment office responsible for the place of residence. The applicant provides information such as age, occupation, qualifications and previous jobs. Registration is free, and the office should issue a registration certificate on the day of application. The law requires registration for employment in Syria, but implementation and access are not uniform across the country. Public employment offices are legally provided for in all 14 governorates, while actual services depend on local capacity and security conditions. A public office may not charge a fee or commission for placement. Private employment offices can also be used, subject to their access rules and the applicable legal framework; fees and service quality are not reliably established nationwide, and placement is not guaranteed. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, known as MOSAL, oversees the public employment system and works through regional directorates. The General Organization for Social Insurance, known as GOSI, administers social insurance, including pensions and work-injury protection. The Social Security Law of 2014 contains a statutory unemployment-insurance model financed by a 0.5% employer payroll contribution and a 1% worker payroll contribution, with a stated requirement of at least 36 contributions, including at least one unemployment contribution. This legal design does not establish a reliably available current payment: as of 2026, no operational unemployment benefit, general payment schedule, benefit amount or universal entitlement based solely on job loss is documented. Job searches can use public employment offices, private offices, the سوق العمل labour-market platform reactivated in 2025, community centres and partner referrals. Direct contact with employers, informal networks, daily or seasonal work and self-employment are also common, although these routes can be unstable and may provide limited protection. The national strategy under development aims to strengthen public and private offices, counselling, referrals and vocational guidance. Service coverage and digital registration through the platform should be checked locally because availability differs by governorate. Humanitarian support is separate from state unemployment insurance. UNHCR and its partners may offer cash assistance, community-centre services or referrals for refugees, asylum-seekers and other eligible groups, depending on vulnerability, funding and programme rules. Returning families may in some cases receive a one-time payment of USD 600, but this is individually prioritised, is not based solely on unemployment and is not available to every returnee. UNHCR services are free. Livelihood programmes may combine entrepreneurship training with an approved business proposal and seed funding in cash or in kind, and some participants may be referred to First Microfinance Bank or Al-Wataniya Microfinance Bank. A public-works programme was still at the design and workshop stage in April 2026 and did not create a general entitlement or fixed start date. Law No. 17/2010 does not cover every worker category. Its exclusions include civil servants, workers covered by the Agricultural Relations Law, family members working for an employer, domestic workers, charity-organisation workers, casual workers and part-time workers working no more than two hours per day. This means that unemployment registration and support cannot be assumed to operate through one system for all workers. Available surveys indicate substantial unemployment and widespread informal or unstable work, but their figures are not direct eligibility tests. A 2026 UNHCR survey of 7,120 households across all 14 governorates found about 30% unemployed; an ILO returnee assessment found more than 80% unemployed among 5,335 respondents in Aleppo, Homs, Daraa and Rural Damascus. These samples do not establish a single national unemployment rate. A World Bank model using an ILO estimate placed total unemployment at 13.6% in 2025, which also does not determine an individual's eligibility for support.