Govt Incentives Support Sustainability of Saudi Employment in Private Sector

Private sector companies attracted 49,300 Saudis in October. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Private sector companies attracted 49,300 Saudis in October. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Govt Incentives Support Sustainability of Saudi Employment in Private Sector

Private sector companies attracted 49,300 Saudis in October. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Private sector companies attracted 49,300 Saudis in October. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Three main factors provided by the Saudi government have helped sustain the employment of citizens in the private sector over the past years.

Those include financial incentives and rewards, continuous training and development, and support and nationalization programs.

According to a report by the National Labor Observatory of the Human Resources Fund on Sunday, a copy of which was reviewed by Asharq Al-Awsat, the local labor market was able to employ more than 714,000 people in the private sector during a period ranging between five to 10 working years.

Private sector companies attracted 49,300 citizens last October. This comes after non-oil sector companies recorded a strong performance during the same month, in terms of employment, the highest in nine years, according to the Purchasing Managers’ Index issued by Riyad Bank in cooperation with Standard & Poor’s.

The report revealed that the total number of citizens working in the private sector reached more than 611,000 employees between one and three years, while the number of Saudis in private companies between three and five years reached more than 377,000 workers.

A recent report issued by the Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning pointed to an improvement in the business environment in Saudi Arabia, as non-oil private sector companies witnessed a continuous growth in performance.

The report revealed that new orders increased positively at the beginning of the second quarter, which led to a strong growth in economic activity, production and employment.



Oil Prices Rise as Concerns Grow over Supply Disruptions

Oil Prices Rise as Concerns Grow over Supply Disruptions
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Oil Prices Rise as Concerns Grow over Supply Disruptions

Oil Prices Rise as Concerns Grow over Supply Disruptions

Oil prices climbed on Tuesday reversing earlier declines, as fears of tighter Russian and Iranian supply due to escalating Western sanctions lent support.

Brent futures were up 61 cents, or 0.80%, to $76.91 a barrel at 1119 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 46 cents, or 0.63%, to $74.02.

It seems market participants have started to price in some small supply disruption risks on Iranian crude exports to China, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

In China, Shandong Port Group issued a notice on Monday banning US sanctioned oil vessels from its network of ports, according to three traders, potentially restricting blacklisted vessels from major energy terminals on China's east coast.

Shandong Port Group oversees major ports on China's east coast, including Qingdao, Rizhao and Yantai, which are major terminals for importing sanctioned oil.

Meanwhile, cold weather in the US and Europe has boosted heating oil demand, providing further support for prices.

However, oil price gains were capped by global economic data.

Euro zone inflation

accelerated

in December, an unwelcome but anticipated blip that is unlikely to derail further interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank.

"Higher inflation in Germany raised suggestions that the ECB may not be able to cut rates as fast as hoped across the Eurozone, while US manufactured good orders fell in November," Ashley Kelty, an analyst at Panmure Liberum said.

Technical indicators for oil futures are now in overbought territory, and sellers are keen to step in once again to take advantage of the strength, tempering additional price advances, said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of research at Onyx Capital Group.

Market participants are waiting for more data this week, such as the US December non-farm payrolls report on Friday, for clues on US interest rate policy and the oil demand outlook.