Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's interior minister on Monday called on government ministries and private firms in the region to create more jobs for citizens.
"It’s impossible, whether in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia or the rest of the world, for the government to employ all young people, but jobs in governmental or private sectors should be occupied by citizens," Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi Interior Minister, said after meeting regional governors.
"Governmental agencies should coordinate to find jobs for these graduates. The private sector too must employ young people and this is what I have discussed with a number of officials from the chamber of commerce," Nayef, who is also Second Deputy Prime Minister, said.
He made the comments after some 200 Saudi university graduates staged a protest in the capital Riyadh at the weekend, demanding that the Gulf Arab state create jobs for them.
Despite its vast oil resources, Saudi Arabia struggles to create employment opportunities for its nationals, due to an outdated education system that focuses more on religion than on skills required to change its oil-based economy, which is already weighed down by a bloated public sector.
The Kingdom's unemployment hit 10.5 per cent last year, according to official data, and creating jobs for the native population of more than 18 million is one of the biggest challenges now facing the country's ageing leaders.
With a total population of 27.1 million, Saudi Arabia offers nationals social benefits, but these are less than those granted by other Gulf Arab oil-producing emirates such as Kuwait and Qatar, which have much smaller native populations.
Many Saudis are forced to work as taxi drivers, private security guards or in other low-paid jobs just to make ends meet.
