As efforts continued to modify the demographic structure and implement the Kuwaitization of government institutions, the labor market witnessed several changes during the past year, most notably 257,000 expatriates leaving the country permanently — 205,000 working for the private sector, and 7,000 in government institutions.
Recent government statistics issued by the Public Authority for Civil Information and the Labor Market System revealed the private sector employees topped the list of those leaving the country, followed by the family sector (domestic labor), which saw 41,200 domestic workers leaving the country during 2021, according to media reports.
In contrast to the rate of decline in the expatriate labor market, 23,000 Kuwaitis entered the labor market during 2021, a majority of them in the government sector.
According to reports, there are 2.7 million people in the country in the labor market, of whom Kuwaitis make 16.2%, while a large proportion of expatriate workers work in the family sector (domestic workers) with a total of 639,000, or 22.8% of the labor force.
The labor market witnessed a stark shortage in some professional specializations as a result of the Corona pandemic and the suspension of the recruitment of expatriate workers from abroad, the private sector suffered a significant decrease in employment, and the relevant agencies in the country were unable to attract national labor to the jobs on offer, which fit their scientific degrees.
A report issued by the National Employment Sector of the Public Authority for Manpower revealed 21,000 citizens are registered as job seekers, of whom 48.3% have shown the desire to work in the private sector, which is a high percentage compared to 9 years ago, with a total of 10,162 citizens.
The Civil Service Commission and PAM are studying the possibility of raising the rates of hiring Kuwaitis in the private sector and Kuwaitizing some professions, jobs and titles. The concerned state authorities are also working on developing a strict plan to activate the mechanism for appointing people with special needs to jobs in the private sector.
The hotel sector in the country is expected to announce new jobs for Kuwaitis, in addition to expanding the areas of business owners and small and medium enterprises.
Figures released by the concerned authority for employees in the labor market for 2021
► 639 thousand domestic workers
► 1.5 million non-Kuwaiti workers in the private sector
► 73 thousand Kuwaitis in the private sector
► 346 thousand Kuwaitis in the government sector
► 21,006 Kuwaiti job seekers
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