JEDDAH, 20 April 2004 — New Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi has promised drastic measures to solve the country’s unemployment problem. “The new ministry will deal with the issue drastically,” he said.
Gosaibi, the former minister of water and electricity who was sworn in as labor minister on Sunday, said the Kingdom was ready to face the “dangerous challenge” of unemployment head-on.
“Unemployment among the Saudis is a dangerous challenge and cannot be tackled with tranquilizers or symbolic measures,” the minister said.
“The issue demands drastic measures, and will be painful sometimes,” Al-Madinah newspaper quoted him as saying.
The ministry had worked out an 11-point plan to deal with the issue.
Unofficial statistics have estimated the Kingdom’s unemployment rate at more than 15 percent not counting women. But official figures insisted that the rate is less than 10 percent. “It is impossible for a country to end unemployment while opening its doors for the recruitment of hundreds of thousands of foreign workers,” Gosaibi said.
According to a report carried by Al-Hayat pan-Arab daily, the Labor Ministry intends to prevent recruitment of foreign labor to 29 job categories, which will be restricted to Saudis.
Gosaibi emphasized the need to train Saudis to meet job market requirements and added the ministry would also reduce the ceiling for foreign workers in the country.
