Arab News, Wed, Mar 06, 2024 | Shaban 25, 1445
Saudi private sector employment touches 11.1m
Saudi Arabia:
The total number of employees in Saudi Arabia’s private sector reached 11.1
million in February, up 0.9 percent from the previous month, according to newly
released figures.
The Saudi National Labor Observatory report
revealed that out of the total, 2.3 million were Saudi nationals while 8.8
million were residents of the Kingdom belonging to different nationalities.
This data represents a positive trend in the
employment sector as the private sector continues to expand its workforce,
creating opportunities for Saudi citizens.
Moreover, an analysis of the Saudi national
workforce shows that while 961,690 employees were females, 1.4 million were
males.
On the other hand, of the 8.8 million non-Saudi
workers, 348,892 were women, while 8.4 million were men.
In February alone, the net growth in jobs for
Saudi nationals as well as residents stood at 26,694, indicating a steady
increase in employment within the private sector.
In November, the NLO released a first-of-its-kind
report that disclosed that the number of Saudis with more than 20 years of
experience in the private sector is above 123,000.
At the time, the organization claimed that this
figure indicates an improvement in the overall survival and sustainability of
such jobs in the Kingdom.
The study also highlighted that this rise was
mainly attributed to efforts exerted by the sector, such as financial incentives
and rewards.
In addition, private firms offer continuous
training and development driven by government support, retention, and
nationalization programs.
In 2021, a report revealed that the Saudi private
sector is hiring women at twice the rate of the public sector.
Between the beginning of 2019 and the end of 2020,
Saudi women in the labor market grew by 64 percent as the Kingdom underwent
several social reforms, particularly for its female population, the study
disclosed at the time.
The analysis, commissioned by the US think tank
Brookings Institute, showed the surge was “genuine, private-sector-led,” as
female employment in these sectors rose by about 10 percent, twice as quickly as
in the public sector, where it grew 5 percent.
Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification path has
turned the Kingdom into a hub for employment opportunities, thanks to its bold
giga-projects, including NEOM, which attract fresh talent into the construction
sector.
The massive developments align with the Kingdom’s
Vision 2030, which aims to reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil and enhance
the strength of the private sector.