Bahrain's unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 per cent between April and June from 4.1 per cent earlier, government data has revealed.

A Cabinet session, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, heard that the total number of unemployed Bahrainis by the end of June was 7,180, of which 15 per cent were men (1,085) and 85 per cent (6,095) women.

In March, the number of jobless Bahrainis was 8,175 compared with 7,022 in April and 7,285 in May, said the report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication

The overall drop is by 12 per cent from March to June, which reflects the efficient training and employment policies in place, said Labour Minister Jameel Humaidan.

“Large numbers of job-seekers were enrolled through these programmes.”

According to the report, 6,085 job seekers were hired during the second quarter, which is a monthly average of 2,028 compared to 2,042 during the previous quarter.

Humaidan said that 34 per cent of the recruits were women and 66 per cent were men.

However, job vacancies fell from 4,649 in April to 4,393 by end of June.

“The ministry got rid of jobs that were not appealing to Bahrainis,” added Humaidan.

He explained that 55 per cent of vacancies were aimed at high school graduates, 21 per cent at holders of bachelor degrees and seven per cent at diploma holders, while 70 per cent of openings targeted Bahrainis who did not complete their secondary school education.

“The number of trainees rose to 9,017 by the end of June from 5,128 in April, which is a 76 per cent rise,” said Humaidan.

“Training opportunity for job seekers also was on the rise.

“The ministry is drawing up new training plans to accommodate newcomers who are willing to enter the job market in 2014.”

Training

Jobs in the crafts, production and transportation sectors had the highest rates of employment.

Humaidan added that sacked employees who received compensation from the ministry decreased to 359 in June from 452 in April.

According to the Central Informatics Organisation, the national workforce was at 195,904 “including 188,724 Bahrainis” at the end of 2013.

Tamkeen also recorded that 153,525 Bahrainis were working in the public sector at the end of the first quarter, which was based on inputs from the General Organisation of Social Insurance. - TradeArabia News Service