Saudi Arabia: Government measures deprive 94,000 foreign workers of their jobs

Saudi authorities have taken measures that resulted in the deprivation of 94,000 foreigners of their jobs in the third quarter of 2017.

Anatolia News Agency reported that the number of foreign workers in both private and public sectors reached 10.69 millions in the third quarter of 2017, compared to 10.79 millions in the second quarter of the same year, resulting in the exit of 94.39 thousand foreigners from the Saudi labour market during the last three months of 2017.

Saudi Arabia has started to require local employment only in various sectors such as insurance, telecommunications and transportation after that the unemployment rate of its citizens reached 12.8%. The country aims to provide 450,000 jobs for Saudis, through “the National Transition,”  and replace 1.2 million jobs by 2020.

The Ministry of Finance predicted that the miscellaneous income from the expatriates remuneration (in foreign fees) in 2018 would reach 28 billion riyals ($ 7.5 billion).