Among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Saudi Arabia has the largest native population and the highest citizen-to-expatriate ratio. A fast-growing population and falling oil prices can be a volatile combination if there are a significant number of unemployed people floating about in the population pool. This potential source of worry is what the country has been seeking to address.

In the most recent figures released by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) last month, the population of Saudi Arabia reached 32.6 million during the first half of 2017, with an increase of 870,000 people compared to the end of 2016.

According to the data, there are 20.4 million Saudis, who form 63 per cent of the total population. The population of non-Saudis hit 12.2 million, or 37 per cent of the total population. About a third of the Saudi population is aged between 25 and 44 years, and the preliminary data issued by the authority said the Saudi population is one of the fastest growing in the world.

The late King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz had launched the Hafiz programme to support and encourage serious job-seekers. Some 2.6 million people, 14 per cent of them males and 86 per cent females, had benefited from the programme. In order to qualify for an allowance of 2,000 Saudi riyals (Dh1,959), a job-seeker has to show that he or she is seriously looking for a job. The basic objective of this financial allowance is to help job-seekers get a permanent and stable job and not be dependent on government subsidies perpetually as a source of income.

The programme was one of a group of incentives and schemes ordered by the late King to support job-seekers. A massive higher education assistance boost through the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Programme in Saudi Arabia, that runs until 2020, has benefited more than 160,000 students who have been funded by this programme to pursue higher studies in reputable universities in many leading countries of the world.

To support local employment, the government has deported hundreds of thousands of undocumented foreign workers. The country’s Labour Ministry has tightened rules for foreign labour in companies insisting that they look towards the domestic market first. The ministry has also earmarked certain professions for nationals only. Along with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour has organised job fairs both domestically and internationally with major companies in the Kingdom making job offers to fresh Saudi graduates. Applicants with higher academic credentials are quickly absorbed by major petrochemical outfits. However, many others complain of being offered jobs with salaries that are far below their expectations.

Many reasons are given as to why young Saudis remain unemployed or are unemployable. While there is a range of job openings in the country, many young Saudi job-seekers lack the required qualifications and skills specified by the prospective employers. Human resources professionals in the country blame the prevailing education system for failing to cater to the requirements of the job market.

As in other countries of the GCC, the natural affinity of most nationals seeking employment has been towards the government sector. Historically, the private sector has failed to match the salaries and benefits offered by government sector firms to first-time employment hunters. Many job-seekers cite low salaries, lack of job security, unattractive remuneration packages and long working hours as reasons for their lack of interest in working for the private sector. Saudi workers in private companies also accuse their employers of not taking into consideration the social and economic pressures that the employees bring with them to their work environment. A recent study conducted by the Human Resources Development Fund indicated that 45 per cent of young Saudis refuse to work for private companies because of the attitude of their employers.

The government cannot be in the business of absorbing all Saudi job-seekers. It has turned to the private sector for help. Some business leaders have responded to the call. One of them said that unemployment should be treated in an innovative way “as the Kingdom is not an impoverished country that is facing budget constraints”. “Our labour market needs to be regulated in a way that ends this problem permanently. The number of expatriate workers in our market makes one wonder whether we have a real unemployment problem like other countries or the problem lies in the fact that we have plenty of jobs, but our youth think they aren’t appropriate for them in terms of the nature of the work and the salary,” he commented.

According to an economist, “Most Saudis rely on the government sector to create jobs for them. The results can be catastrophic in the future if the private sector doesn’t start offering more opportunities for Saudis.”

But with the government divesting some of its assets and scaling down employment, these Saudis will have to look elsewhere for employment. Industry captains from the private sector must utilise this growing pool of young and ambitious Saudis.

Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/@talmaeena.