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.



Oil Prices Held Down by Trump Tariff Uncertainty

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
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Oil Prices Held Down by Trump Tariff Uncertainty

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

Oil prices were little changed on Thursday, maintaining almost all of the previous session's losses on uncertainty over how US President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs and energy policies would affect global economic growth and energy demand.

Brent crude futures were up 18 cents at $79.18 a barrel by 1315 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) rose 14 cents to $75.58.

"Oil markets have given back some recent gains due to mixed drivers," said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at brokerage Phillip Nova.

"Key factors include expectations of increased US production under President Trump's pro-drilling policies and easing geopolitical stress in Gaza, lifting fears of further escalation in supply disruption from key producing regions."

The broader economic implications of US tariffs could further dampen global oil demand growth, she added, Reuters reported.

Trump has said he would add new tariffs to his sanctions threat against Russia if the country does not make a deal to end its war in Ukraine.

He also vowed to hit the European Union with tariffs and impose 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico. On China, Trump said his administration was discussing a 10% punitive duty because fentanyl is being sent from there to the United States.

On Monday he declared a national energy emergency intended to provide him with the authority to reduce environmental restrictions on energy infrastructure and projects and ease permitting for new transmission and pipeline infrastructure.

There will be "more potential downward choppy movement in the oil market in the near term due to the Trump administration's lack of clarity on trade tariffs policy and impending higher oil supplies from the US", OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said in an email.

On the US oil inventory front, crude stocks rose by 958,000 barrels in the week ended Jan. 17, according to sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.

Gasoline inventories rose by 3.23 million barrels and distillate stocks climbed by 1.88 million barrels, they said.