5. THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IN THE GULF AND ITS IMPACT ON SOUTH ASIA
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Employment Structure in the GCC Countries In the GCC countries, over 50 percent of the workforce is employed in manufacturing, trade, and construction. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are the exceptions, where the share of public administration and defense is rather high (table 5.2). The share of construction in total employment increased rapidly during 2001–08 in some of the GCC countries. For instance, in the United Arab Emirates the share of construction-sector employment increased by 5 percent during the period. In Saudi Arabia, the increase in employment in the construction sector during the period was on the order of 300,000. Construction is one of the major sectors attracting expatriate labor, and so it is important to analyze the effect of the crisis on that sector. Project finance and utilities
TABLE 5.2 Share of Employment across Economic Activities in GCC Countries, 2007 percent
Bahrain
Oman
Kuwait
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Agriculture, hunting, and forestry
0.47
9.09
2.60
1.92
4.69
Fishing
0.01
0.44
0.08
0.43
Activity
Mining and quarrying Manufacturing Electricity, gas, and water supply
United Arab Emirates
5.00
a
a
0.49
1.96
1.90
5.27
1.32
1.30
17.54
10.77
4.43
8.69
7.28
13.00
0.13
0.33
0.01
0.66
0.96
1.20
Construction
29.86
34.68
14.23
37.14
10.22
20.60
Wholesale, retail trade, and car repairs
24.62
16.18
14.03
12.28
16.10
20.00
Hotels and restaurants
6.55
5.97
2.89
1.96
3.20
4.20
Transport, storage, and communication
4.20
1.30
3.85
4.33
4.42
6.20
Financial intermediaries
3.46
0.29
1.21
1.09
1.08
1.40
Real estate and renting services
7.54
1.77
5.59
3.43
3.22
3.30
Public administration and defense
0.01
—
14.75
6.35
18.03
10.80
Education
1.24
0.76
5.23
3.16
11.96
b
Health and social work
0.24
1.91
2.40
2.55
4.33
b
Community and personal services
2.11
1.08
4.18
1.54
2.26
4.50
Domestic services
0.06
9.96
21.86
8.79
10.79
8.40
Extraterritorial organizations and bodies
0.21
2.59
0.11
0.21
0.13
—
Not classified by economic activity
0.30
0.90
0.66
0.18
0.01
0.01
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
Total
Sources: ILO 2008, Ministry of National Economy Oman. For Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates the figures are taken from the country reports. Note: For Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates figures show the paid employment by economic activity. For Oman figures show expatriate workers in the private sector. Kuwait figures are for 2005. — = not available. a. Fishing is included in agriculture, hunting, and forestry. b. Education and health are included in public administration and defense.