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23 August 2016
JEDDAH: The Saudi economy created about 6.2 million jobs, of which 2.7 million jobs were occupied by Saudis, and 3.5 million by non-Saudis, in 15 years (from 2000-2015), a Saudi analytical survey revealed.
In 2015, nearly 416,983 jobs were created, with non-Saudis occupying 367,062 jobs or 88 percent, and Saudis 49,921 or 12 percent, said survey author Dr. Emtithal Al-Thumairi, a faculty member in the Department of Economics at King Saud University.
"Despite the adverse economic circumstances in 2015 due to the plunge in oil prices, the Saudi economy managed to create 416,983 jobs in the same year, with non-Saudis possessing 88 percent of these jobs," the survey, published in Al-Thumairi's book "The Saudi Economy 2015: An Analytical Perspective," revealed.
Labor market statistics indicated that basic auxiliary engineering occupations had 80 percent of the total jobs created in 2015, and that non-Saudis occupied 97 percent of such professions.
According to the classification of the General Authority for Statistics, basic auxiliary engineering occupations include "mechanical, electrical and electronic occupations, carpentry, decoration, construction, and assembly of machines and devices."
In the light of this information, Dr. Al-Thumairi asserted that as long as highly educated domestic workers don't have the skills required for basic engineering occupations, continuous efforts should be made to steer the educational and training programs in the direction of the actual needs of the labor market.
In addition, she adds, more Saudi citizens should be encouraged to enrol in vocational and technical programs and to gradually replace expatriate workers with Saudis, which would result in minimizing possible economic disturbance or pressure on wages and prices.
The employment rate of Saudis in the private sector fell by 1.46 percent in 2015, compared with a rise in employment growth rate of 6.75 percent in the previous year, Dr. Al-Thumairi said. The employment of Saudis in the government sector grew by 2.29 percent in 2015, compared with 3.28 percent in the previous year.
She revealed that the unemployment rate among Saudis declined slightly to 11.5 percent in 2015, compared with 11.7 in 2014.
Al-Thumairi has also pointed out that that the real problem lies in that most of the created jobs have been occupied by non-Saudis. Thus, the Saudi labor market depends heavily on non-Saudi workers to implement work in the private sector, resulting in the high unemployment rate among Saudis.
JEDDAH: The Saudi economy created about 6.2 million jobs, of which 2.7 million jobs were occupied by Saudis, and 3.5 million by non-Saudis, in 15 years (from 2000-2015), a Saudi analytical survey revealed.
In 2015, nearly 416,983 jobs were created, with non-Saudis occupying 367,062 jobs or 88 percent, and Saudis 49,921 or 12 percent, said survey author Dr. Emtithal Al-Thumairi, a faculty member in the Department of Economics at King Saud University.
"Despite the adverse economic circumstances in 2015 due to the plunge in oil prices, the Saudi economy managed to create 416,983 jobs in the same year, with non-Saudis possessing 88 percent of these jobs," the survey, published in Al-Thumairi's book "The Saudi Economy 2015: An Analytical Perspective," revealed.
Labor market statistics indicated that basic auxiliary engineering occupations had 80 percent of the total jobs created in 2015, and that non-Saudis occupied 97 percent of such professions.
According to the classification of the General Authority for Statistics, basic auxiliary engineering occupations include "mechanical, electrical and electronic occupations, carpentry, decoration, construction, and assembly of machines and devices."
In the light of this information, Dr. Al-Thumairi asserted that as long as highly educated domestic workers don't have the skills required for basic engineering occupations, continuous efforts should be made to steer the educational and training programs in the direction of the actual needs of the labor market.
In addition, she adds, more Saudi citizens should be encouraged to enrol in vocational and technical programs and to gradually replace expatriate workers with Saudis, which would result in minimizing possible economic disturbance or pressure on wages and prices.
The employment rate of Saudis in the private sector fell by 1.46 percent in 2015, compared with a rise in employment growth rate of 6.75 percent in the previous year, Dr. Al-Thumairi said. The employment of Saudis in the government sector grew by 2.29 percent in 2015, compared with 3.28 percent in the previous year.
She revealed that the unemployment rate among Saudis declined slightly to 11.5 percent in 2015, compared with 11.7 in 2014.
Al-Thumairi has also pointed out that that the real problem lies in that most of the created jobs have been occupied by non-Saudis. Thus, the Saudi labor market depends heavily on non-Saudi workers to implement work in the private sector, resulting in the high unemployment rate among Saudis.
© Arab News 2016
