The number of employed Kuwaitis during the last 12 months has risen by over 19,900 compared with 18,300 in the previous year, with nearly 73 percent of new jobs in the public sector.

Kuwait’s total population reached 3.63 million at the end of June 2011, a growth of 2 percent compared to the previous year, according to figures published by the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI).

The number of Kuwaiti nationals reached nearly 1.16 million, or 32 percent of the total population.

While the growth in the population of Kuwaiti nationals remained relatively stable, the expatriate population grew by 1.4 percent year-on-year, following a 4 percent increase a year earlier. The drop in expatriate growth is likely the result of the government’s initiative to deal with the number of illegal residents overstaying their residency.

Growth in Kuwait’s total labour force remained weak in June 2011, with the number increasing by a small 1.1 percent from a year ago to reach 2.2 million. Growth in the Kuwaiti labour force (nationals) however was a strong 6 percent year-on-year.

For expatriate workers, the numbers were up in both the public and private sectors, though they fell for domestic workers.

Of the new jobs for Kuwaitis, only 27 percent were in the private sector, lower than the 49 percent of the previous year, the figures showed. New employment in the private sector among Kuwaiti nationals during the last twelve months ending June 2011 was 5300, down from 9000 in 2010. The number employed in the private sector rose to 77,700.

In June, 21 percent of Kuwaitis worked in the private sector, unchanged from a year earlier.

The government sector still remains the main source of jobs for Kuwaitis with the number of entrants to the public sector 57 percent higher than 2010. There were over 14,500 new public sector employees compared to 9000 during the same period the year before.

The reason for the raise is partially due to the approval of salary hikes in the government sector which has resulted in migration from private to public.

In the public sector, the number of working women has risen from 36 percent in 2004, to 44 percent by the end of June. Though the gain has been gradual, the private sector has seen a far more dramatic shift in women’s participation, with a rise of 51 percent from 27 percent, in a span of 10 years, most gains taking place in the last five years. – TradeArabia News Service