In a country where half of the population is still under 25, unemployment is a serious and likely growing problem. Add to it that women, comprising more than half the population, are largely excluded from many types of job, and the problem is even worse.

That the Saudis were able to reduce unemployment by 1.4%, therefore, is commendable. Asharq Alawsat interviews the Deputy Minister of Labor about unemployment in the Kingdom. He notes that the job situation is going to remain very difficult for those who stop their educations at the high school level. He also points to several factors in the labor sector, including the fact that employing women does not necessarily lead to higher costs for private employers and that while Saudization remains the goal, current economic issues are paradoxically calling for an increase in foreign laborers. Interesting piece.

Saudi Deputy Labor Minister on Unemployment
Turki Al-Saheil

Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- The general unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia has dropped by 1.4 percent, according to a study by the Kingdom’s General Statistics department and announced by the Labor Ministry last week.

According to the figures revealed by Saudi Deputy Labor Minister Abdul-Wahid al-Humayd, 76 percent of unemployed Saudi women, who represent 41 percent of total unemployed Saudis, are university graduates, while the educational qualifications of the majority of the unemployed, whose numbers exceed 236,000, do not exceed that of a high school degree.

The deputy labor minister commented on these figures by stressing that social conventions prevailing are among the chief obstacles that obstruct the employment of women in his country. He said: “There are social issues that obstruct the employment of Saudi women, and also there are social conventions, whose bases are not necessarily religious, but they vary from one region to another and from one province to another.”

Al-Humayd was pleased with the Labor Ministry’s ability to bring the unemployment rates among his male compatriots below the 9.8 percent barrier, after they were 11.2 percent. He considers the 9.8-percent rate close to the unemployment rates in many of the world countries.

However, the problem that faces the Labor Ministry officials is that the majority of unemployed males have dropped out of school after obtaining their High School degrees, “a problem that might restrict these people to certain jobs.”
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