JEDDAH, 13 January 2005 — Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said the actual number of Saudi job-seekers in the Kingdom stands at less than 180,500 as shown by statistics drawn from an employment campaign launched by the ministry last month. He said he wanted the numbers to be endorsed as the “realistic figures” of unemployed Saudi men instead of “unreliable and exaggerated” figures.
“A number job-seekers registered so far under the ministry’s employment campaign was 180,443. This figure represents the actual number of job-seekers who have genuine interest in finding work. The ministry hopes that this figure be endorsed instead of estimates. People should stop publishing figures and percentages that do not reflect reality and that mostly tend to greatly exaggerate the rate of unemployment and that do not rely on precise information drawn from the field,” Dr. Al-Gosaibi said in a statement yesterday.
In May last year the Ministry of Labor said it would not consider any figures on labor force and unemployment rates in the Kingdom except what is issued by the official General Statistics Authority.
The latest figures issued by the authority stated that the unemployment figure was around 9.6 percent of the total Saudi labor force (15 years and over). The figure meant there were then 300,000 unemployed people in the Kingdom.
These remarks followed inquiries about conflicting unemployment figures in the Kingdom. The ministry said the conflicting figures were prompted by studies not based on professional statistical methods but were nevertheless published by the local media.
Unemployment among women was put at 21 percent, according to government statistics. A recent study has shown that some 92,000 women working in Riyadh represent only six percent of the total work force. The study showed that the greatest percentage of unemployed female workers is in the 30-39 age group of whom 97.6 percent are unemployed.
Dr. Al-Gosaibi said unemployment represents a “national priority and not just the concern of the ministry or the government,” and urged every member of society to join in the effort aimed at ending unemployment. “Everyone should be involved in this national mission. Companies and businesses should contribute to fighting unemployment by securing jobs for Saudis.”
The minister promised to make public in the coming days the results of the employment campaign and the ministry’s efforts in achieving the goals set for the campaign.
The government announced plans to spend SR2 billion in the coming months to prepare young Saudis for employment. The money will be drawn from a special human resources development fund set up a few years ago to provide the money needed for training young Saudis.
Dr. Al-Gosaibi called on businessmen to come up with training projects ending with employment for the trainees.
