Middle East Focus: Saudi Unemployment Edges Detroit, Barely………….
Saudi Unemployment Edges Detroit, Barely………….
“Unemployment among Saudis rose to 10.5 percent in 2009 from 10 percent a year earlier, and topped 43 percent among men and women aged 20-24, according to a government figures cited by Okaz newspaper on Wednesday. Despite continued economic growth on the back of a massive government spending programme, 448,547 Saudis were without jobs, up by 32,197 from a year earlier, a report by the Central Department of Statistics and Information showed. Joblessness among men was 6.9 percent, slightly up from to 6.8 percent in 2008. Among women, the rate was 28.4 percent compared to 26.9 percent. The very high figures for youth underscore the problem of a rapidly growing population that, for complex reasons, is not getting jobs despite steady economic growth. The jobless rate was 43.2 percent for men and women in the 20-24 category, rising to 46.7 percent for men alone…….The study did not cover the
eight to 10 million foreigners in Saudi Arabia -- a third or more of the
total population of 25.3 million........” Cheers
mhg
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