JEDDAH, 15 April 2008 — The majority of unemployed Saudis prefer to seek jobs outside the Kingdom, according to a recent study conducted by YouGovMe, a market research and consulting company.
The General Statistics Department at the Ministry of Economy and Planning has estimated the total number of unemployed Saudi men and women at 454,000. About 56 percent of that number think of going abroad to find jobs while 86 percent believe it would be difficult for them to get jobs in the Kingdom, the study revealed.
As many as 66 percent of these unemployed youths believe that the presence of a large number of expatriates is the main reason for their unemployment, the study said. There are more than seven million guest workers in the Kingdom.
Forty-seven percent of the unemployed Saudis believe that the number of youths graduating from Saudi universities and colleges is greater than the number of available jobs. However, a considerable number of the unemployed blamed themselves for their situation.
“Twenty-three percent of them think that they had not seriously sought employment,” the study said. About half of the individuals interviewed for the study thought that a lack of technical education was another reason for their unemployment.
Experts who prepared the study expressed their dismay that Saudis were not receiving jobs in an ever-expanding economy with new development projects being launched almost every day. They said Saudis were finding it difficult to complete with experienced foreign manpower. They believed that education would help reduce the rate of unemployment among Saudis and improve their living condition.
The General Statistics Department estimated unemployment among Saudi men at eight percent and among women at 26.6 percent. About 43.9 percent of the unemployed are between the ages of 20 and 24.
About 36.4 percent of them hold bachelor degrees and 38.8 percent of the men hold secondary school certificates. More than 73 percent of unemployed Saudi women have bachelor’s degrees, it added.
Dr. Mohamed Ramady of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals has called for a realistic plan to control increasing unemployment in the Kingdom. “There are no easy solutions for addressing unemployment,” he said.
According to a report carried by Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic daily, the ongoing expansion work at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the demolition of many hotels and furnished apartments in the area have left many Saudis jobless.
Some hotels have promised these young Saudi men that they would be posted to other parts of the Kingdom while others offered long vacations until they find jobs at other firms. Some training centers in Makkah said they would provide intensive training to jobless Saudis to help them find suitable jobs in other companies.
“We also want to prepare a database of unemployed Saudis in order to present it to the Makkah governor for necessary action,” said Muhammad Al-Binayan, director of the Training and Employment Center at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said two hotels — Khalil Bahadur and Zahrat Al-Riyadh — had transferred their employees in Makkah to other locations.
Yousuf Al-Ahmadi, a real estate businessman in Makkah who is helping Saudis find employment, said: “I am sure that these experienced Saudis will get jobs in other hotels at Misfala, Jarwal, Ibrahim Khalil, Maabida and Azizia.”
