Over 257,000 expats exit Saudi job market in 3 months

RIYADH — A total of 257,170 foreign workers left Saudi Arabia’s employment market in the third quarter of 2020, according to the recent figures released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). The total number of non-Saudi workers fell to 10.2 million during the period from 10.46 million workers in the second quarter of 2020.

On the other hand, the number of Saudi employees increased by about 82,000 workers in the third quarter of 2020, bringing the total number of Saudi employees to about 3.25 million, compared to 3.17 million workers in the second quarter of 2020.

The decline in the number of foreign workers led to a decrease in the total number of workers in the Kingdom by about 175,000, reaching 13.46 million workers, compared to about 13.63 million workers in the second quarter of 2020.

Meanwhile, there has been an increase of 23,000 in the number of work visas issued during the third quarter of last year. The total number of work visas issued in the third quarter reached 72,400, compared to 49,600 visas in the second quarter of 2020.

The second quarter of 2020 witnessed the lockdown and ban on travel to and from the Kingdom, as part of the government’s efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The third quarter of 2020 witnessed a decline of 56 percent in the number of work visas issued to the government sector by about 6,600 visas, bringing the total number to about 5,200 visas, compared to 11,800 visas in the second quarter of 2020.

On the other hand, there has been a significant increase in visas issued to the individual sector, by 265 percent, reaching about 20,800 visas, compared to 5,700 visas in the second quarter of 2020. Similarly, the number of visas issued to the private sector increased by a rate of 45 percent, reaching 46,400 visas in the third quarter of 2020, compared to about 32,000 visas in the second quarter of 2020, the GASTAT data showed.