18,000 foreign workers in Algeria (mainly from China and Egypt)

Ech Chourouk, Liberte: Minister of Employment and National Solidarity Djamel Ould-Abbes reports that there are 18,191 foreign workers in Algeria - in 1999, there were only 543. 45% of them are Chinese, 11% Egyptian, with another 3% from each of Italy, the Philippines, the US, and France. 65% of them are in Algiers, Ouargla, Oran, or Adrar. Both note that, under law n° 81-10 of July 1981 and presidential decree n° 03-251 (2003), foreign workers are entitled to the same rights as Algerians (including social security, unions, and schooling for their kids), while employers are obliged to ensure their repatriation when their contract becomes void. Ech Chourouk makes its position rather clear in its headline: "While millions of Algerian youths suffer unemployment, more than 18,000 foreign workers invade the Algerian labour market". However, Ould-Abbes states that the foreign workers are necessary to fill gaps in the labour market, given Algeria's current rapid (hydrocarbon-price-fuelled) growth.