11.2 Million Saudis Join Private Employment Market

According to the Labor Observatory statistics, the total number of workers in the private sector reached about 10.9 million. (SPA)
According to the Labor Observatory statistics, the total number of workers in the private sector reached about 10.9 million. (SPA)
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11.2 Million Saudis Join Private Employment Market

According to the Labor Observatory statistics, the total number of workers in the private sector reached about 10.9 million. (SPA)
According to the Labor Observatory statistics, the total number of workers in the private sector reached about 10.9 million. (SPA)

A new report has shown that the Saudi private sector employment market has for the first time incorporated over 11.2 million employees, 8.8 of whom are expatriates and 2.3 million are Saudi nationals.
The increase in the number of Saudis in the employment market comes at a time when the unemployment rate among Saudis recorded the lowest level at 7.7 percent during the last quarter of 2023.
This is very close to the Vision 2030 unemployment target of 7 percent, thanks to the increase in the number of female workers and the government’s efforts to create more job opportunities for Saudis.
In its statistical figures, the National Labor Observatory said on Wednesday that over 28.1 thousand citizens joined, for the first time, the private sector’s labor force last March.
According to the Observatory, 9.9 million employees in the private sector are males, while the number of females touched 1.3 million.



Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
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Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

Oil prices were up slightly on Friday on stronger-than-expected US economic data that raised investor expectations for increasing crude oil demand from the world's largest energy consumer.

But concerns about soft economic conditions in Asia's biggest economies, China and Japan, capped gains.

Brent crude futures for September rose 7 cents to $82.44 a barrel by 0014 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude for September increased 4 cents to $78.32 per barrel, Reuters reported.

In the second quarter, the US economy grew at a faster-than-expected annualised rate of 2.8% as consumers spent more and businesses increased investments, Commerce Department data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted US gross domestic product would grow by 2.0% over the period.

At the same time, inflation pressures eased, which kept intact expectations that the Federal Reserve would move forward with a September interest rate cut. Lower interest rates tend to boost economic activity, which can spur oil demand.

Still, continued signs of trouble in parts of Asia limited oil price gains.

Core consumer prices in Japan's capital were up 2.2% in July from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, raising market expectations of an interest rate hike in the near term.

But an index that strips away energy costs, seen as a better gauge of underlying price trends, rose at the slowest annual pace in nearly two years, suggesting that price hikes are moderating due to soft consumption.

China, the world's biggest crude importer, surprised markets for a second time this week by conducting an unscheduled lending operation on Thursday at steeply lower rates, suggesting authorities are trying to provide heavier monetary stimulus to prop up the economy.