Private-sector jobs for Saudi women up by 145%

JEDDAH: The number of private-sector Saudi female employees registered at the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) reached 496,800 by the end of the third quarter of 2016.
This marks a 144.62 percent increase from the 203,088 jobs that were occupied by the end of 2012.
The number of private-sector jobs available to Saudi women represented 12 percent of private-sector jobs for Saudis, rising to 30 percent by the end of 2016, according to GOSI’s statistics.
Female employment grew 4.1 percent during the third quarter of 2016, compared to the same period in the previous year, GOSI reports showed.
About 40 percent of the jobs are based in Riyadh, where 203,600 jobs are available, followed by Makkah province with 21.5 percent, or 106,800 jobs. The Eastern Province is third with 11.4 percent, or 56,400 jobs.
Jazan has shown the most growth, as the number of such jobs rose by 19 percent.
However, prominent businesswoman Lama Al-Sulaiman told Arab News that women seeking employment still face serious obstacles, including transportation and a lack of day-care centers.
“The rate of employing women… is concentrated in small jobs,” she said, adding that the annual percentage increase of employed women should be raised.
The number of unemployed women in Saudi Arabia reached 439,600 by the end of the third quarter of 2016, representing 34.5 percent of the total percentage of unemployed people in the country. Total employment stands at 12.1 percent.
Saudi Arabia plans to increase the number of women in the workforce from 23 percent to 28 percent, and decrease the unemployment rate to 9 percent by 2020.