'Saudi has over one million jobless people'

A Saudi deputy has rebuffed official estimates that there are about 360,000 unemployed people in the Gulf Kingdom, saying the figure exceeds one million.

Latest figures by Saudi Arabia’s labour ministry showed an aggressive employment drive launched by the world’s largest oil exporter a few years ago has paid off, with the number of jobless people plunging from more than 500,000 at the end of 2010 to 360,000 at the end of 2014, nearly six per cent.

“These figures are not realistic…there are more than one million unemployed Saudis in the country,” Mohammed Al Khunaizi, a member of the Shura council (appointed parliament), told the Arabic language daily Mecca.

“The unemployment figure is high because many companies lie about job Saudization…this is forgery which is punishable under Saudi laws.”

Saudi Arabia has a population of about 330 million, including nearly nine million foreigners, mainly from other Arab and Asian countries.