Over 780,000 foreign workers are unemployed in Saudi Arabia

Official figures released by the Saudi government say that as many as 785,000 foreign workers in the private sector have left their jobs in the last 15 months since early 2017.
The General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI), quoting Middle East Monitor, says the number of foreign employees dropped to 7.71 million by the end of Q1 2018, compared to 8.495 million at the end of 2016.

By contrast, Saudi employment rose to 1.76 million at the end of the first quarter of this year, compared with 1.68 million in 2016, according to the Anadolu survey.
Unemployment of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia is related to the government’s efforts to create employment opportunities for local Saudi nationals in several economic sectors, including retail, over the past two years.

The Saudi government says the Saudi citizens can only work in sectors, such as insurance, communications and transportation, with the unemployment rate of citizens in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reaching 12.8%.

The Saudi government will limit work at outlets to 12 activities and professions, mostly in the retail sector, to Saudi nationals alone, starting on September 11, 2018.