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45.8% of Employees in Saudi Arabia Work More than 40 Hours a Week

The percentage of employees who have coverage for primary healthcare reached 89.7% (Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development)
The percentage of employees who have coverage for primary healthcare reached 89.7% (Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development)
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45.8% of Employees in Saudi Arabia Work More than 40 Hours a Week

The percentage of employees who have coverage for primary healthcare reached 89.7% (Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development)
The percentage of employees who have coverage for primary healthcare reached 89.7% (Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development)

A total of 45.8% of employees in the Kingdom work for more than 40 hours per week, and 39.6% of employees work for 40 hours per week on average, the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has announced.

The GASTAT published health and safety at work statistics for 2023 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

The publication showed that employees' actual working hours per day are eight hours.

The percentage of employees trained on health and safety procedures at work reached 46.6%, while the percentage of employees with a dedicated health and safety department at their workplace reached 48.7%.

According to the bulletin, the most common risks faced by employees are standing for long periods of at least four hours daily, with a percentage of 28.21%, sitting on a chair for long periods exceeding three continuous hours, with a percentage of 28.15%, and moving the upper limbs repeatedly for long periods with a percentage of 17.1%.

The results showed that 7.8% of employees directly or indirectly deal with chemical substances, medical waste, radioactive materials, or toxic gases, while 6.3% of employees face electrical, machinery, or drowning risks.

The percentage of employees who have coverage for primary healthcare reached 89.7%.

The most common work-related health issue in the past 12 months is "work-related stress," with a percentage of 3.2%, while 83.5% of employees do not suffer from any work-related health issues.

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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could have significant economic ramifications for the region and the global economy, but commodity prices remain below the highs of the past year.

IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told a regular news briefing that the Fund is closely monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon with "grave concern" and offered condolences for the loss of life.

"The potential for further escalation of the conflict heightens risks and uncertainty and could have significant economic ramifications for the region and beyond," Kozack said.

According to Reuters, she said it was too early to predict specific impacts on the global economy, but noted that economies in the region have already suffered greatly, especially in Gaza, where the civilian population "faces dire socioeconomic conditions, a humanitarian crisis and insufficient aid deliveries.

The IMF estimates that Gaza's GDP declined 86% in the first half of 2024, Kozack said, while the West Bank's first-half GDP likely declined 25%, with prospects of a further deterioration.

Israel's GDP contracted by about 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023 after the conflict began, and the country has seen only a partial recovery in the first half of 2024, she added.
The IMF will update its economic projections for all countries and the global economy later in October when the global lender and World Bank hold their fall meetings in Washington.
"In Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic and social situation," Kozack said, referring to Israel's airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"The conflict has inflicted a heavy human toll on the country, and it has damaged physical infrastructure."
The main channels for the conflict to impact the global economy have been through higher commodity prices, including oil and grains, as well as increased shipping costs, as vessels avoid potential missile attacks by Yemen's Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea, Kozack said. But commodity prices are currently lower than their peaks in the past year.
"I just emphasize once again that we're closely monitoring the situation, and this is a situation of great concern and very high uncertainty," she added.
Lebanon in 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a potential loan program, but there has been insufficient progress on required reforms, Kozack said.
"We are prepared to engage with Lebanon on a possible financing program when the situation is appropriate to do so, but it would necessitate that the actions can be taken and decisive policy measures can be taken," Kozack added. "We are currently supporting Lebanon through capacity development assistance and other areas where possible."