Saudi Arabia nationalises 41 professions

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Labour and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi announced yesterday that work in 41 professions in the fields of hospitality, tourism and non-profit organisations in the city of Madina will be restricted to Saudi citizens.

The minister said in a statement quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency that the professions include those working in “closed markets, commercial centres, as well as order takers, food service employees, security and safety directors, maintenance managers, room service managers, sales and marketing representatives and tourism programme directors, as well as the directors of front offices and staff relations.”

READ: Western tourists trickle into Saudi Arabia as it tries to open up

The statement stressed that violators will face penalties.

According to the General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI), the number of foreign employees in Saudi Arabia fell to 7.91 million at the end of 2017, compared with 8.49 million at the end of 2016. Meanwhile, the number of Saudi employees increased by 1.78 million by the end of 2017 compared to 1.68 million in 2016.

Saudi Arabia aims to reduce the unemployment rate to nine per cent by 2020, and to seven per cent by 2023.