Saudi Arabia Offers 70,000 Jobs Through New Unified National Employment Platform

Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi at the launch of the Jadarat platform. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi at the launch of the Jadarat platform. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Offers 70,000 Jobs Through New Unified National Employment Platform

Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi at the launch of the Jadarat platform. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi at the launch of the Jadarat platform. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi government has introduced “Jadarat,” a new national job platform designed to simplify the job search process and connect job seekers with employers. The platform aims to make it easier for citizens to find jobs and for employers to access local talent through an efficient digital system.

The launch of Jadarat follows a Cabinet decision from February 2021 to create the platform. Last October, the Cabinet appointed the Saudi Human Resources Development Fund, also known as Hadaf, to manage Jadarat, which will serve as the main tool for national employment.

On Sunday, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi, along with Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb and Hadaf Director General Turki Al-Jawini, officially launched Jadarat in Riyadh.

The platform uses a digital system to quickly match job seekers with available positions, streamlining the application process.

Al-Rajhi emphasized the government’s focus on developing local talent and improving workforce efficiency.

He noted that Jadarat is designed to unify and verify job seekers’ data, enhance application processes, and make it easier for individuals to access job opportunities.

Al-Rajhi revealed that Hadaf has spent about SR3.7 billion ($986 million) on programs and products to support employment, training and qualification of Saudis during the first half of this year.

More than 100,000 establishments have benefited from these programs and over 153,000 citizens were employed in private sector establishments, he said during the launching ceremony of Jadarat.

“The goal of the platform, under the slogan ‘Ambition and Empowerment,’ is to unify employment efforts and data of job seekers in the public and private sectors, and to raise the quality and reliability of data,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Al-Jawini said that there are approximately 70,000 job vacancies on Jadarat in various specializations, needs and sectors of the labor market.

He highlighted Hadaf’s keenness on establishing the platform to review a number of international qualitative experiences and take into account the challenges that the labor market previously faced.



Israel’s Economic Growth Slows in Q2 amid Gaza Conflict

A Palestinian inspects the damage of a destroyed house following an Israeli air strike in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip (EPA)
A Palestinian inspects the damage of a destroyed house following an Israeli air strike in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip (EPA)
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Israel’s Economic Growth Slows in Q2 amid Gaza Conflict

A Palestinian inspects the damage of a destroyed house following an Israeli air strike in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip (EPA)
A Palestinian inspects the damage of a destroyed house following an Israeli air strike in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip (EPA)

Israel's economy grew less than expected in the second quarter of 2024, extending a period of volatility since the start of the war in Gaza, which Israeli economists said has cost the economy over $67.3 billion.
But the weakness is likely not enough to prompt a central bank rate cut next week given rising inflation.
The Central Bureau of Statistics said in an initial estimate on Sunday that gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an annualized 1.2% in the April-June period, below a Reuters consensus of 4.4%. On a per capita basis, GDP fell 0.4% in the quarter.
Overall growth was led by gains in consumer spending (12%), investment in fixed assets (1.1%) and government spending (8.2%), offsetting an 8.3% decline in exports.
First-quarter GDP was revised to 17.3% annualized from a prior estimate of 14.4%, bouncing back from a contraction of 20.6% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Over the first half of 2024, Israel's economy grew 2.5% at an annual rate versus 4.5% in the same period in 2023, according to the statistics bureau.
“The economy is having difficulty recovering from the war, mainly because of supply and not demand problems,” said Leader Capital Markets Chief Economist Jonathan Katz.
He noted that the lack of Palestinian workers since the Gaza conflict erupted was preventing a full recovery in investment in residential construction.
Figures issued on Thursday showed a spike in the inflation rate to 3.2% in July from 2.9% in June, pushing it above the government's annual inflation target of 1-3%.
The Bank of Israel next decides on rates on Aug. 28.
Last Thursday, Israeli economists said the Gaza war has cost the Israeli economy over $67.3 billion.
“The war has already cost the Israeli economy more than 250 billion shekels ($67.3 billion), and the defense establishment wants an annual increase of at least 20 billion shekels ($5.39 billion),” Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, the former CEO of Israel’s Bank Leumi, told Israeli Channel 12.
“The deficit is much larger, we have evacuees, wounded, and many economic needs that are not even counted in the cost of the war,” she added.
Jacob Frenkel, a former governor of Israel’s central bank, said the country’s budget deficit reached 8.1% last July.
“The most urgent and important task is to deal with the deficit,” he said.
“Israel started the year 2023 without a deficit and since then the situation has deteriorated. By the end of July, the deficit reached 8.1%, or about 155 billion shekels ($41.8 billion). It must be covered.”
Uri Levin, a former CEO of Israel Discount Bank, said Israel will not be able to rehabilitate its economy without winning back the trust of international investors.