Expats continue to outnumber Saudis in the labour force

There has been a 12 per cent increase in the number of expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GAS), which is the only official statistical reference for statistical data and information in the Kingdom.

The number of expatriates in the Kingdom reached 11.6 million by mid-2016. In 2015, there were 10.2 million expats. The increase means that 56 per cent of the Saudi labour force is made up of expats compared to 44 per cent who are Saudi.

Expatriates are occupying 72 per cent of jobs in the tourism and hospitality sector against 28 per cent Saudis.

The GAS survey showed that the number of unemployed Saudi citizens reached 693,784, of whom 254,108 were men and 439,676 women.

The results indicate that the highest rate of unemployment among Saudis was among those who are between 25 years and 29 years of age; that is 39 per cent of the total unemployed Saudi nationals.