Business | Economy
Study shows 12% of Saudi workforce jobless
A recent study has revealed that 470,000 Saudis, or 12 per cent of the Kingdom's workforce, are without jobs.
- By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
- Published: 00:00 April 15, 2007
- Number of unemployed Saudi males: 292,905 (9.1 per cent of the male labour force)
- Unemployed females: 176,113 (36 per cent of the female labour force)
- Total labour force: 8,024,885
- 95.2 per cent of Saudis in the workforce are educated
- 18 per cent of Saudis on the job are university graduates
- 17.9 per cent have only completed intermediate school
- The majority, or 36.5 per cent, of Saudis are in the service sector
- 1.2 per cent work in the industrial and food manufacturing
Riyadh: A recent study has revealed that 470,000 Saudis, or 12 per cent of the Kingdom's workforce, are without jobs.
The unemployment rate in the Kingdom has been continuously increasing, although there have been conflicting reports, including a 2003 study that estimated jobless Saudis to represent 30 per cent of the population.
In 2004, a Ministry of Labor official said only 9.6 per cent of the labour force did not have jobs.
The official said the conflicting figures were prompted by studies that were not based on professional statistical methods.
In an attempt to replace foreign workers with Saudis, the Kingdom has implemented a 'Saudisation' strategy, which has been largely accomplished through various employment quota targets.
Recently, the minister of planning and economy noted that the eighth five-year development plan (2005-09) aims to improve the situation of Saudi women by providing them with more job opportunities.
Growth
He expects the percentage of women in the Saudi workforce to increase from a mere 5.4 per cent to 14.2 per cent by the end of the plan's period.
He pointed out that the number of working women in the Kingdom was very small compared to other countries.
Eighty per cent of Saudi working women are in the education sector, and others are working at the heath and social sectors.
In a related development, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour, Dr Abdul Wahed Al Humaid, reaffirmed that six million job opportunities were available for Saudis.
He indicated that a new employment programme would be launched late this month through joint efforts between the ministry and the human development fund.
"The new employment strategy establishes new solutions for unemployment in the Kingdom. They include medium and long-term solutions, Al Humaid pointed out in press statements yesterday. He added that the strategy was forwarded to the Supreme Economic Council for approval.
Break-up: The situation in numbers
Source: The General Statistics Department
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