BELIEF, Economic Update, Competition, Competition and Trade, Growth, Economic Growth

Lebanon’s Skilled Workforce Faces a New Squeeze

15:28 | 31 August 2026LIMS output
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workforce

Lebanon’s skilled labour market is under renewed pressure. Years of financial crisis have already weakened the country’s ability to retain qualified workers and create productive employment. Continued instability in 2026 has compounded the strain just as AI and automation are reshaping the global demand for labour. These pressures renewed questions over whether Lebanon can address long-standing weaknesses in its labour market before they become harder to reverse.

LIMS argued that the problem goes beyond a temporary shortage of jobs after the financial collapse. It reflects a deeper failure to create the conditions needed to attract investment, expand businesses and generate productive employment. Highly educated and technically trained graduates are increasingly working below their qualifications, wasting skills and human capital, before many leave the country altogether. Their departure further erodes Lebanon’s capacity to innovate, adapt and generate growth.

The challenge is becoming more consequential as technology and geopolitics reshape the global economy. AI and automation may reduce demand for labour in some activities while increasing the value of technological capabilities, data, energy and other strategic resources. At the same time, geopolitical tensions and disruptions to energy and trade routes are placing a premium on economic adaptability and resilience. Lebanon risks confronting these changes with a constrained private sector and an underused workforce, limiting its ability to retain the talent needed to navigate the transition.

LIMS therefore stressed the need to remove policy barriers that discourage investment, entrepreneurship and business formation. A more open environment for capital, technology and enterprise would allow Lebanon’s educated workforce to be deployed more productively, helping the country retain talent while positioning itself to compete in an increasingly technology-driven global economy.

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