THE problem of unemployment has become a worrying headache for us all. In many areas there are human resources who have qualified in their specializations but have not been accommodated in any suitable jobs. There are hundreds of others whose specializations have not been recognized by the Health Ministry. These specializations have also not been classified under any job title by the Ministry of Civil Service. The holders of these specializations are added to the long list of unemployed Saudi men and women. The job seekers are at a loss. They are caught between their own hopes and ambitions and the inability of existing strategies and mechanisms to accommodate them in suitable jobs. As it is often said, figures have their own glamor and they are more eloquent than words, so let us talk in solid numbers. In the world of statistics, the figures turn into indicators of success or failure. The figures and statistics will show us that we are still crawling while the statements of the concerned officials indicate that we have already grown up and matured. The statistics of the Nitaqat program, which is affiliated to the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf), say there were 1.87 million job applications from various parts of the Kingdom. The available openings, according to the Taqat (energies) program of the Labor Ministry, are no more than 11,300 throughout the Kingdom. I fully agree with the labor expert Turad Al-Amri on the importance of finding a radical solution to the problem of joblessness through a sovereign decision. A supreme authority for the Saudi labor market should be created under the Council of Economic and Development Affairs. Unemployment has become a social as well as an economic burden. The problem is bigger than the capabilities of the Labor Ministry. Efforts for its solution should involve society and all its sectors as well as the concerned ministries and government departments.
