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Arabia
35 percent unemployment in Soddyland?
2003-11-04
Abid Khazindar • Okaz
Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Ahmad Al-Zamil was recently quoted as saying that the number of Saudis employed in the private sector was 562,246 based on figures from the ministry’s department of statistics. According to figures in the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency’s annual report for 2002, the population of Saudi Arabia was 23.37 million, of whom 17.34 million are Saudis and the rest — 6.3 million — non-Saudis. The SAMA report said the number of Saudis of working age was 9.5 million and those employed in the government sector numbered one million.
Almost twice as many as work in the private sector?
In other words, if we add the number of Saudis in the private sector to the SAMA figures, we will see the total number of working Saudis is 1.56 million. Based on this figure, the rate of unemployment in the Kingdom is 35 percent. The figure is close to estimates by foreign sources but a far cry from the 8.5 percent provided by the Manpower Council.
I'm not a mathematician, but wouldn't 1.56m employed out of a work force of 9.6m make an employment rate of 16 percent, which would produce an unemployment rate of 84 percent? I guess they're dropping half the working age population as women, which would make 35 percent, but that'd still be the employed rate. What am I missing? Guess I'd better retake Economics 101...
Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#12  Hey, Ex-Nammycons! I used to push for my Department to create a 999 Division. Then transfer all of the speed-bumps and roadblocks to it. It would have assigned work and the Div Head and Supervisor positions would rotate until everyone had both for their CV. Then it would be easy to pawn these clowns off on someone else who had a spot come vacant - prolly from an Expat guy getting his family out of that hellhole. Ideal for fulfilling Saudiazation program requirements.

Whadday think? Work for you?

Michael, I think there's a "Murphy's Law" styled truism that goes like this:

Management 101: acccumulate all available authority and delegate all attributable responsibility.
Posted by: .com   2003-11-4 6:52:47 PM  

#11  Lovely memories of Saudi administration, boys. The way I had Saudi management analyzed was simple: I take the credit if it works; you take the blame if it doesn't.
Posted by: Michael   2003-11-4 4:36:17 PM  

#10  Certainly enjoyed both. thanks. Although the aramco guy was before my time and the story of the MPs came later. The country attitudes haven't changed.
Posted by: Gasse Katze   2003-11-4 1:56:58 PM  

#9  BD- 100% #4 in '92. This time I was not nearly so innocent: 50% #3 / 50% #4! I don't owe the IRS a dime and they still haven't been able to replace me are the answers to 1 & 2. ;->

GK - How did you like Barnes' Saudi stories? Quite a memory trip, I hope!
Posted by: .com   2003-11-4 9:22:20 AM  

#8  A post the other day referred to the use of CERT funds to employ local Iragis to rebuild schools and infrastructure. I chuckled when thinking how that policy could work in Arabia where only foreigners do the stoop labor. Also,.com was right on about the "do nothing and you will not be wrong"
philosophy.
Posted by: Gasse Katze   2003-11-4 9:02:31 AM  

#7  And so... .com, which type were you?! ;)
Posted by: Bulldog   2003-11-4 8:44:01 AM  

#6  It's classic Avoidance Management. If you don't make decisions, in their version of reality, you don't make mistakes. It's the old 60's IT saying, "Nobody ever got fired for choosing IBM" taken to its extreme. I call it the "Never do anything for the first time Law" (think about that for a minute!) - Arab Style. Mistakes can easily be career-enders - even small ones. It doesn't matter that you don't accomplish anything, just don't fuck up - and you'll get whatever upward mobility is due you according to your tribal affiliation. Kiss ass and Suck up to power. Don't fuck up. This will make your "career" in SaudiLand.

An example of the Aramco version of Avoidance Management in action:
If a Mgr (typically a Dept Head) finds himself in a box and there is no way to pawn a decision off on someone else, preferably a foreigner, then he will force all of the Division Heads that report to him to initial whatever requires his signature - shared complicity if the shit hits the fan. If any are Americans or Brits (there are a few left, but disappearing fast), all the better - infidel "experts" provide the best cover of all. The terror flows downward amongst the Saudis.

Amongst the infidels, our attitudes are different. I have identified 4 types of infidels in Lalaland - there are mixtures, but I think these are the pure forms:

1) Fugitives - IRS & Divorce Courts & Deadbeat Dads & ???
2) Incompetents - Soooo mediocre they can't make it in the West
3) Money whores - Like Lawyers in spirit, but not in expertise!
4) Fools with an "adventure gene" - usually sated in a few years.
Posted by: .com   2003-11-4 8:33:50 AM  

#5  A manager who doesn't manage? Sounds like half the ones I've ever worked for.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2003-11-4 8:23:32 AM  

#4  That is my definition of a job consisting of cashing the monthly/weekly cheque: what is a manger who doesn't manage?
Posted by: JFM   2003-11-4 6:17:18 AM  

#3  Not true. Having worked there I can tell you they'll accept management positions, as well, if they do not require decision making.
Posted by: Anonymous   2003-11-4 3:55:57 AM  

#2  In fact Saudis refuse _all_ the jobsx except those consisting at cashing cheques.
Posted by: JFM   2003-11-4 3:33:06 AM  

#1  Why do they have to import all those Asian workers? Saudis refuse to do most of the manual labor and menial service jobs?
Posted by: Tokyo Taro   2003-11-4 3:15:02 AM  

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