Saudi: Thousands of expats lose jobs as unemployment spikes in coronavirus crisis

  • Date: 10-Oct-2020
  • Source: Gulf Insider
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Saudi Arabia
  • Who else needs to know?

Saudi: Thousands of expats lose jobs as unemployment spikes in coronavirus crisis

Representational imageSaudi Arabia is expected to see a gradual improvement in its unemployment rate over the coming months as the kingdom opens up its economy and continues lifting restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, analysts have said.However, the country may not be able to rely on annual dividends of almost $75 billion from state oil company Saudi Aramco to plug its budget deficit beyond next year unless crude prices increase, they added.Jadwa Investment said jobs prospects are likely to improve in the Saudi market after the unemployment rate jumped to 15.4 percent in the second quarter of 2020, up from 11.8 percent in Q1, mainly due to the impact of the pandemic.The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) said the number of expats in the labour market declined by 19,000, on