Unemployment rate in Qatar drops
The current employment situation in Qatar seems to be too good with an overall improvement seen in workforce participation.
A recent survey by the Qatar Statistics Authority has indicated that the rate of participation by the labour force stands at 85.1% for 2007, while it was 80.4% during 2006 and only 74% during 2001. The figure includes a population of working age, aged 15 and above, in both employed and unemployed sectors, who are deemed as economically active.
The survey results showed that Qatari men showed a tendency to work for shorter hours on an average with 50 hours per week, while women worked 52 hours per week. However, Non-Qatari men indicated a tendency to work longer hours, say 53 hours per week, while non-qatari women worked 58 hours a week.
The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for Qatari males was recorded as 64.7%, non-Qatari males 97.7%, Qatari females at 34.6%, and non-Qatari females at 56%.
Among the total 977,000 working-age population who participated in the survey, 87.6% were males, with 64.5% being Qatari males, and89.4% being non-Qatari males.
Most of the employed Qataris worked in the public sector (88.6%), while most non-Qataris worked in private sectors (78.4%).
The rate of unemployment stood at 0.5% during 2007, a major drop as against the 0.9% of 2006, and 3.9% of 2001.
The rate of unemployment was 0.2% for Qatari males and 2.6% for Qatari females, while it was 0.3% for non-Qataris.
Among nearly 4300 people who were categorized as ‘currently unemployed’ during the survey, were not employed at the time of survey, but were open for work, and were on job-hunt for one month.
Posted on 8/7/2008