Around 1.2 million foreign workers to leave Saudi Arabia

There could be as many as 1.2 million foreign workers leaving the Saudi Arabian labour market in 2020, a report from Jadwa Investment Company found.

Hospitality, food services, administrative and support activities, which include rent and lease activities, travel agencies, security and building services, will be the most affected and will see the highest exit of foreigners, Jadwa said.

However, despite the expat exodus, the unemployment rate among Saudi nationals will remain unchanged by the end of 2020, at 12 percent, it added.

For a country that depends on foreign workers for evertything, and whose young populace despises menial jobs, the mass exodus of expats (1.2 million and counting) from Saudi Arabia – which didnt raise employment rate among locals – could create labour gap. https://t.co/ftYhe8oV4M

— A b d u l (@Zuby215) June 16, 2020

Expectations show that these conditions will hard-hit travel, hotels, restaurants, tourism and environment sectors, with a full recovery not expected in the near future, even as the Kingdom moves to ease coronavirus lockdown measures.

Jadwa noted that Saudi Arabia’s unemployment scheme, SANED, will be instrumental in allowing Saudi citizens to keep their jobs in the private sector, and further initiatives to replace foreign labour with Saudis will add support to unemployment levels.

Overall, Experts expect the business environment to improve throughout the second half of this year, with the biggest bump in the fourth quarter, which will have a positive effect on employment of citizens, despite lingering damage caused by the CORONAVIRUS.

Saudi | "Jadwa’s economists estimated that 323,000 foreign workers have already left the kingdom since the start of the year, with travel, hotel and restaurant sectors particularly susceptible." – Bloomberg https://t.co/bfvhzJIqkL

— Sebastian Castelier (@SCastelier) June 15, 2020

Saudi nationals will benefit from the departure of foreign nationals, taking jobs that may have previously held by foreigners.

Jadwa also noted that as the economy recovers from the coronavirus, nationals will also have the opportunity to take jobs that may have normally been given to foreign nationals, providing more opportunities for employment.

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