Egypt's CBE issues EGP55b in T-bills    Egypt, Norway's Scatec explore deeper cooperation in renewable energy    Emergency summit in Doha as Gaza toll rises, Israel targets Qatar    Egypt's EDA, Korean pharma firms explore investment opportunities    CBE, banks to launch card tokenization on Android mobile apps    CIB completes EGP 2.3bn securitization for GlobalCorp in seventh issuance    Ex-IDF chief says Gaza war casualties exceed 200,000, legal advice 'never a constraint'    Right-wing figures blame 'the Left' for Kirk killing, some urge ban on Democratic Party    Egypt's FM heads to Doha for talks on Israel escalation    Egypt strengthens inter-ministerial cooperation to upgrade healthcare sector    Egyptian government charts new policies to advance human development    Egypt advances plans to upgrade historic Cairo with Azbakeya, Ataba projects    Egyptian pound ends week lower against US dollar – CBE    Egypt expresses condolences to Sudan after deadly Darfur landslides    Egypt hosts G20 meeting for 1st time outside member states    Lebanese Prime Minister visits Egypt's Grand Egyptian Museum    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Egypt seeks Indian expertise to boost pharmaceutical industry    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



More than 1 million Saudis on unemployment benefit
Welfare programme unveiled by Kingdom's ruler last year sees a surge of applicants
Published in Ahram Online on 28 - 03 - 2012

More than 1 million Saudi Arabians are now receiving unemployment benefit, the labour ministry said on Wednesday, underlining a source of potential discontent that the rulers of the world's top oil exporter are keen to contain.
The "Hafiz" programme, which pays unemployed Saudis 2,000 riyals ($533) a month for up to one year, was announced by King Abdullah during the Arab uprisings last spring and introduced in late 2011.
"The number of beneficiaries this month rose by 40 per cent from last month and by 170 per cent from December when the programme started to pay the monthly subsidy," said the official Saudi Press Agency, quoting Khaled al-Ajmi, the Labour Ministry official in charge of Hafiz.
Thanks to a decades-long population boom, the Saudi government can no longer afford to reduce unemployment by creating public sector jobs. Last year's revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and Syria were blamed by some on high youth unemployment.
Officially the kingdom's unemployment rate is 10.5 per cent, but that figure does not include the large numbers of working-age Saudis not counted as part of the labour force.
Recent government figures show the labour force participation rate, meaning people who are in jobs or who say they are looking for work, is 36.4 per cent, about half the global average, say economists.
Jeddah-based Arab News reported on Wednesday that the head of a parallel unemployment programme run by the Labour Ministry said joblessness cost the government 5.5 billion riyals a year.
Around 90 per cent of Saudis in work are employed by the government, while 90 per cent of jobs in private companies are filled by around 8 million foreigners.
Expatriates tend to fill higher-paying technical roles for which many Saudis lack the experience, and very low-paying jobs that many Saudis see as menial.
In January, Labour Minister Adel al-Fakeih said the conservative Islamic kingdom needed to create 3 million jobs for Saudi nationals by 2015 and 6 million jobs by 2030, partly through the "Saudisation" of work now being done by expatriates.
Last year Saudi Arabia's economy grew by 6.8 per cent, buoyed by strong oil revenues and a government spending spree. There are about 18 million Saudi nationals in the country.
More than 80 per cent of people receiving unemployment benefit are women, said SPA. Despite opposition from powerful religious conservatives, the government is pushing for more Saudi women to enter the job market.
It has designated women-only working environments including lingerie and cosmetics shops.
Some government critics say the Hafiz programme might discourage Saudis from looking for jobs in the private sector, where salaries are sometimes lower than the unemployment benefit.
However, economists say it might also push Saudis currently listed as out of the labour force to register as unemployed, meaning the government will develop a more accurate picture of jobless levels.
Those receiving benefits are added to a new national employment database that lists people seeking work alongside details of their qualifications, education and employment history to help match them with suitable employers.
In addition to the Hafiz programme, the government has also introduced a new system of quotas for Saudi versus foreign employees, set according to the size and sector of each company.
However, the official quoted by Arab News said that half of all private companies in the Middle East's largest economy were in the ministry's lowest bracket of compliance with Saudisation quotas.
Companies that perform badly in the quota system will be prevented from acquiring visas for new foreign employees.
The Labour Ministry has also sponsored career fairs in the kingdom's largest cities where it vets job seekers before pairing them with potential employers.
That initiative is aimed at reassuring private companies, which have traditionally seen imported labour as cheaper and more reliable than Saudi workers, that job candidates will be qualified for any positions on offer.


Clic here to read the story from its source.