JEDDAH, 6 August 2006 — Young Saudi graduates and other workers have complained that low salaries, long working hours and job security concerns were driving them away from seeking jobs in the private sector.
They expressed these views in an online survey carried out by the Manpower Development Fund (MDF).
Among the 8,111 Saudi jobseekers who took part in the survey until Thursday, 3,738 said low salaries were the main obstacle preventing them from taking up jobs with private companies. But 2,806 said they feared job insecurity while 1,667 complained about long working hours in private firms.
The survey results were significant at a time when thousands of young Saudi graduates seek jobs at private companies as opportunities in government departments and agencies have become scarcer.
Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said in a recent statement that his ministry was now depending fully on the private sector to provide jobs for citizens.
“We are depending on the private sector to employ the largest percentage of Saudis in the coming period. Saudization in the government sector is almost complete,” he told businessmen during a meeting at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently.
The minister emphasized the private sector’s role as a major employer that offers a wide range of job opportunities.
“I have said this numerous times; it’s the golden goose and the ministry has no intention to harm it,” said Al-Gosaibi.
According to a study conducted by the Manpower Development Fund, private companies have started offering good salaries to Saudi engineers and accountants.
Specialized graduates get salaries ranging from SR3,589 to SR9,244 in industrial, contracting, tourism, agricultural, educational, investment, service and health sectors.
At the same time, non-specialized diploma holders received a lower salary of between SR3,092 and SR4,776 while Saudis holding technical diplomas were given a salary that ranged from SR2,900 to SR3,800.
Another study conducted by the National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority showed that the clustering of GCC nationals seeking public sector jobs while foreign-born citizens taking up low-wage jobs in the market were the root-causes of unemployment in GCC states.
The GCC study also revealed that employment subsidies and employment quotas have had negative rather than positive effects on employment, with subsidies serving to increase wages overall, thereby reducing labor demand; and firms employing ghost workers’ (on paper only) just to meet quotas, such as the Saudization policies in the Kingdom.
