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RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, November 9, 2002: After the ban on foreign taxi drivers, Saudi Arabia has now announced that all jobs in gold and jewellery shops, presently dominated by Indians, will be taken over by local people by next year. Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif, who is also chairman of the Manpower Council, has ordered the total “Saudization” of jobs in gold and jewellery shops from March 4, 2003, Al-Madinah newspaper reports. The shop owners have also been asked to ensure that 50 per cent of their staff are Saudi citizens by the end of this year. There are 3,500 expatriates working in the 1,100 gold and jewellery shop in Saudi Arabia and 10,000 skilled workers in the 360 workshops in Jeddah. A group of Saudi businessmen have decided to open an institute to train Saudi youth in skilled jobs related to the manufacture and sale of gold and jewellery. Between six and seven million expatriates live and work in the Kingdom, which has a population of 22 million. Unofficial estimates put the unemployment rate among Saudi males at about 15 per cent. Labor and Social Affairs Minister Ali Al-Namlah disclosed recently that there are 3.2 million Saudi job seekers.

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