Citizens living in war-torn Yemen, currently facing a severe economic crisis, have expressed grievances over being replaced in low-skilled labor sectors by Ethiopian migrants who are willing to work for lower wages.
The youth unemployment rate in Yemen has reached 32.39 percent, a crisis particularly evident among youth who lack specialized skills or higher education.
Following the civil war and economic collapse that began five years ago, Yemeni youth were forced to engage in any form of manual labor to support their families; however, they now find it increasingly difficult to secure even such jobs.
According to a report by Middle East Eye, a Yemeni individual who had supported himself for the past 15 years by washing dishes and cleaning in restaurants in the city of Aden is now unemployed. The individual noted that while he used to earn 130,000 Yemeni Rials per month, he was replaced by an Ethiopian migrant who agreed to work for 80,000 Yemeni Rials.
The man further explained, "Ethiopian migrants do not have families here, so they accept any low pay to survive. For us, however, that amount is insufficient to support our families."
Additionally, it was noted that business owners prefer Ethiopian migrants because they work hard, clean better, and accept lower wages for longer hours without complaint.
For their part, the Ethiopian migrants explain that their main goal is to reach Saudi Arabia. They work during their stay in the country only to cover the costs of food and other necessities. Many Ethiopians in the area were quoted in the report saying, "Yemenis are our brothers; we share the same suffering."
Data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) shows that in 2025 alone, 110,144 migrants entered Yemen, 97 percent of whom were Ethiopian citizens.
Yemen serves as the primary transit country for the dangerous journey to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations. Of those entering the country, 90 percent aim to reach Saudi Arabia, while the remaining 10 percent stay in Yemen.
However, while the influx of migrants is not the primary cause of the overall unemployment in Yemen, it has created an uneven market competition in specific sectors—particularly in cleaning, domestic labor, and agriculture.
Previously, due to traditional social values, there was a tendency for Yemenis to look down upon cleaning jobs. However, the current severe economic crisis has eroded that cultural stigma, forcing youth to seek any available job opportunity, which has ultimately led to these complaints.
Meanwhile, a large number of Tunisian citizens gathered on Saturday in front of the UNHCR office in the capital, Tunis, to hold a protest. They demanded the immediate expulsion of undocumented sub-Saharan African migrants from the country and called for the UN agency to leave Tunisia.
