Qatar's 2024 Q2 unemployment rate of 0.1% lowest in GCC
The report also noted that Qatar has one of the highest proportions of expatriate workers in the GCC, with non-Qatari employees comprising 84.5 percent of the total labour force.
In comparison with other GCC states, Qatar's unemployment rate reflects nearly full employment, while other member countries reported higher figures, particularly among women. Oman recorded the highest unemployment rate in the bloc at 3.6 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia at 3.5 percent.
Across the GCC, the female unemployment rate averaged 10.8 percent, compared to 1.6 percent for males. Qatar reported the lowest rates for both genders, 0.4 percent for women and 0.1 percent for men, maintaining this level consistently for over a year.
The report highlighted that among expatriate workers in Qatar, men account for 84.5 percent and women 15.5 percent.
This aligns closely with the broader GCC, where 85.1 percent of all workers are non-nationals. Saudi Arabia's workforce is 87.1 percent non-Saudi, Oman's is 86 percent, and Kuwait's 74.4 percent.
In terms of the Qatari citizen workforce, men represent 58.9 percent while women account for 41.1 percent, placing Qatar second only to Saudi Arabia, where women make up 40.5 percent of national workers.
The report also noted that Qatar has one of the lowest male-to-female ratios among national workers in the GCC, with 143 working Qatari men for every 100 Qatari women, compared to Oman's 248 and Saudi Arabia's 147.
The GCC-STAT data further revealed that the overall number of expatriate workers in Qatar during Q2 2024 reached 2.2 million, representing 8.9 percent of the total expatriate labour force in the region.
This positions Qatar fourth behind Saudi Arabia, which employs 16.9 million foreign workers, as well as Kuwait and Oman.
Despite its heavy reliance on foreign labour, Qatar's national workforce has remained stable, with only a negligible change in citizen employment figures over the previous quarter and a 0.4 percent quarterly increase.
The report compiled its findings using data from official statistics agencies across GCC countries, including the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (UAE), Information & eGovernment Authority (Bahrain), General Authority for Statistics (Saudi Arabia), National Centre for Statistics and Information (Oman), National Planning Council (Qatar), and Central Statistical Bureau (Kuwait).
It also drew upon international comparisons from the ILO World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2024. Notably, the report indicated that some datasets may be incomplete or unavailable for all GCC countries, depending on each country's data provision and release schedule.
With a near-zero unemployment rate and a growing expatriate-dependent economy, Qatar continues to demonstrate a dynamic and resilient labour market, ranking among the GCC's leaders in workforce stability and inclusivity.
The report underlined the country's sustained efforts in creating job opportunities, empowering women in the workplace, and maintaining labour market efficiency, all of which contribute to its economic resilience in a highly competitive regional environment.
© Dar Al Sharq Press, Printing and Distribution. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
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