Saudi Arabia’s government plans a new set of labour quotas and incentives to reduce unemployment as it tries to wean its economy off oil exports, Labour Minister Mufrej al-Haqbani said on Tuesday.
The changes are part of a wider reform plan announced last week by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and reflect the difficulties the kingdom has faced for years in creating jobs for Saudi nationals.
“There is no doubt that unemployment is a looming spectre and we will take all measures, whether job creation, job substitution or even, if required, increasing the Saudisation target,” Haqbani told Reuters in an interview.
He was referring to the possibility of restricting certain jobs to Saudis and pressing companies to employ higher ratios of Saudis to foreign workers.
