An Analysis of the Current Labor Market for Graduates in Saudi Arabia

This report provides an analysis of the current labor market for graduates in Saudi Arabia, examining key aspects such as the labor market's structure, employment rates, and the contributions of women. The report utilizes both qualitative and quantitative data, including primary data collected from graduates and secondary data from labor market reports. It applies labor market theories, including the theory of labor market allocation and the neoclassical theory, to understand the dynamics of the market. Key findings highlight the strengths of the graduate labor market, such as high-skilled employment rates, while also identifying weaknesses like the limited participation of women and high youth unemployment. The data analysis reveals challenges related to cultural traditions and the overrepresentation of non-Saudi workers in the labor force. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for improvements in women's participation and addressing the mismatch between graduate skills and job opportunities.

An analysis of the current Labor Market for graduates in Saudi Arabia
Regular Assignment 1b
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Table of Contents
Term of Reference.......................................................................................................................................2
Methodology...............................................................................................................................................2
Findings.......................................................................................................................................................3
Data Analysis..............................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................7
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Term of Reference
The labor market is the market where the people provide their skill to the firm in return for
wages, compensation, and other benefits. Graduate labor market shows the picture of employees
those who are graduate and highly qualified in their particular subject. Labor is the resources of
the firm to perform a various activity within the organization. The report is based on the current
labor market of Saudi Arabia for the graduates. The labor market of Saudi Arabia is being
segmented in several aspects where the employment in the private sector is facing huge
challenges. The report will also highlight the slower growth rate of employment in the country
which eventually affects the graduate labor market. The labor market of the country lacks behind
the other countries because only a small percentage of women in Saudi Arabia took part in the
labor market of the country. In this report, the highlight will also be provided on the involvement
of women and their contribution to the development of the country.
Key terms: labor market; Unemployment; Women contribution, High youth unemployment
Concept and theory: Theory of labor market allocation; neoclassical theory of labor market
Methodology
The report consists of both the qualitative as well as quantitative data for understanding the
working function of the graduate labor market within the country. The data is being collected
with the help of primary and the secondary data. The primary data are being collected from the
graduates of University and also the graduate employees of the organization in the country. In
this process, 100 people were selected as the primary participants of the research study. Random
selection technique was utilized to select the respondents. Several open-ended, as well as close-
ended questions regarding the graduate labor market in Saudi Arabia, was presented in front of
the respondents. Then the secondary data for understanding the graduate labor market of Saudi
Arabia is also utilized where the most important information is gathered from the labor market
report of the country. Various other sources are also analyzed to achieve effective information
and data on the facts.
Data analysis is the method of systematically applying the statistical as well as logical techniques
for the description along with the illustration of appropriate research findings. In this report, both
the quantitative as well as qualitative data analysis method is being utilized. The analysis of
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qualitative data is generally based on the philosophy and the explanation that is being provided
by the respondents. Whereas, the quantitative data analysis is the systematic approach for the
investigation of data. In this process, the numerical value and the percentage analysis is being
utilized. The entire data analysis is being performed with both the analytical method which
provides the logical as well as the practical view on the facts. In this process, the theory of labor
market is also utilized which describes regarding the working function of a labor market. This
theory of labor market eventually helps to understand that the market determines as to where the
people will work as well as their wages for their work (Ministry of Labor and Social
Development, 2016). It shows that the worker provides their skill and their operation skill to the
organization on behalf of wages and even they can move from place to place. The theory also
provides the view and help to analyze the process that the price of labor is related inversely to the
quantity of labor that is present within the market.
The neoclassical theory of labor market is also applied where the market immediately attains the
point of equilibrium without the excess of demand and supply within the market. This theory
shows that the labor market in the same way as the other market where the demand and supply
play the vital role in the determination of price. The labor market according to this theory is the
central market that interplay within the demand and supply of workers that determines the
production level (Gremm, Barth, Fietkiewicz, and Stock, 2018). In this theory, no unemployment
exist as the entire job market is adjusted with the nominal wages. These theories are being
utilized for the data analysis process with the help of qualitative and the quantitative analysis for
achieving the valuable information on the current graduate labor market of the country.
Findings
The country Saudi Arabia is undergoing a vital economic transformation with the creation of
prosperity along with the increment of demand in the labor market. The demand for the high,
increasing labor within the country is being supplied by with the help of effective labor market
(Bourne, and Aldossari, 2016). The participation in the labor market rises to 6.3 million in the
year 2015 which eventually exceeds the participation of the Saudis in the job market. The
primary strength that could be visualized from the graduate labor market in the country is that
they provide high skilled employment rates. Saudi Arabia is the oil based country, and for them,
graduate employment is essential to managing the operational function within the firm
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(Elmulthum, and Elsayed, 2017). In this case, the primary weakness that is being utilized by the
labor market is that the graduate is not liable to work with the minimum wages and the medium
or the low skilled employment. It is clear that the graduate workers generally do not want to
work in the place that depicts the lower skill. Labor market of Saudi Arabia has the most
effective and suitable working function that allows the workers to improve the economic
condition of the country with their skills (Trought, 2017).
Another strength of the graduate labor market in the country is that it allows more people to take
part in the job market. This is one of the best ways to show the skill and the graduate knowledge
of the employees, and for that, they are also getting effective wages and other compensations.
Furthermore, it can be seen that the graduate in the labor market provides an innovative view as
well as a new perspective regarding the production level within the firm. There are some of the
weakness regarding the process is that women or the female workers are not much involved in
the labor market of the country (AlKahtani, and Syed, 2018). It can be seen that in Saudi Arabia
women either highly educated or not does not involve the labor market. This is one of the major
reason that Saudi Arabia lags other counties in the category of the labor market. It can be seen
that only 1.9 million women are involved in the labor market of the country (Al-bakr, Bruce,
Davidson, Schlaffer, and Kropiunigg, 2017). The challenge is quite effective for the firm to
maintain working function and the marketing facility of the workers in the market. The entire
labor market of the country is having the suitable working function for the graduates to perform
their ability and skills.
One of the effective strength that could be utilized from the graduate labor market in Saudi
Arabia is that its unemployment rate is quite low. This is due to the facts that there are much
more non-Saudi workers in the labor market which provides effective business growth within the
market. The weakness that could be visualized within the country is the high rate of
unemployment within the youth (Alhamad, 2014). One of the major reason for this process is
that a maximum number of population in the country are youth who are highly educated to work
for the low level of the task. Another reason for this weakness of the graduate labor market is
that most of the students in their higher education prefer humanities or arts as their major subject
which eventually has fewer job prospects within the market (Al-Asfour, and Khan, 2014). There
is the various reason that led to the drawbacks of the labor market within the country, and for
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that, the graduates are also facing some of the major issues. Moreover, it can be seen that the job
seekers of the country along with the employers are not getting conclusively linked. This is the
primary reason that the graduate labor market of Saudi Arabia is fluctuating.
Data Analysis
The entire finding and the result of the report are duly based on the data collection method and
also the process of analysis. From the qualitative analysis with the help of labor market theory, it
is clearly understood that the workers, as well as the job market of the country, are facing some
of the huge challenges. From the data collected in the primary as well as in the secondary sources
provide the effective view that the country needs to improve their graduate labor market as well
as the women participation within the market. The case is quite effective for the market to
develop their status and their working function within the market. The respondents provides their
view that the cultural tradition along with the economic growth, the young population of the
country are creating a huge challenge for the business. With the help of qualitative analysis, it
can also be seen that the country needs to improve the participants of women within the labor.
The number of women took part in the job market is very low, and for that, the development of
the country regarding women is also lagging (Strategyand.pwc.com, 2018). The facts are clear
that Saudi women lack behind in the labor market due to the culture and tradition of the country.
The number of young candidates and the graduates are high within the country, but the facts are
that a maximum number of students in Saudi Arabia consider the subject of humanities or arts
which does not create much job facility for the graduates.
The quantitative analysis shows the figure that the number of non-Saudi within the graduate
labor market of the country is gradually increasing. This is one of the major facts that in the
world, the unemployment rate of Saudi Arabia is 5% whereas in the country data analysis the
rate is 11.5 percent (Alhejji, Ng, Garavan, and Carbery, 2018). Almost a huge number of
participants provided the view that the country has quite suitable labor law but most of the labor
within the country are immigrants, and for that, they generally perform all the skills at the very
lower rate. The numerical data also provides the view that the women participants within the
labor market have not increased to a huge amount, but as compared with the year 1992 it has
increased to 14.4% (Hilal, Scott, and Maadad, 2015). The fact is clear that the employees within
the country are very much effective with the working function and the ability of the firm. The
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neoclassical theory of labor market is being utilized within the quantitative data to understand the
demand as well as the supply of effective and skilled employees within the market. The graduate
labor market is developing in the world, and for that, the country is also getting the most
valuable and effective production level. The data also provides the view that the non-Saudis have
a suitable position in the labor market as they hold around 80% of the position in the low skilled
job and almost 56% position in the high skilled job.
Conclusion
The paper eventually concludes the facts that the graduate labor market along with the labor law
of the country is quite effective. The only problem or the issue that is being faced within the
country is that maximum number of the graduate employee are the non-Saudis who work for the
low skill and less salary also. The paper also concludes that the women in the labor market of
Saudi Arabia do not have the huge contribution and for that, they are lagging behind the other
nations. The analysis provides the view that the country needs to develop their thought and their
working function especially regarding the women employees. The data that is being utilized
within the report is validated until the number of participants within the labor market gets
increased. The paper also provides the view that the number of the graduate labor market of
Saudi is quite due to the facts that they generally prefer the education of humanities and arts
which does not possess high job facility.
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References
Al-Asfour, A. and Khan, S.A., 2014. Workforce localization in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:
Issues and challenges. Human Resource Development International, 17(2), pp.243-253.
Al-bakr, F., Bruce, E.R., Davidson, P.M., Schlaffer, E. and Kropiunigg, U., 2017. Empowered
but not equal: Challenging the traditional gender roles as seen by university students in Saudi
Arabia. In FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education (Vol. 4, No. 1, p. 3).
Alhamad, H.S., 2014. The Labor Market in Saudi Arabia: Foreign Workers, Unemployment, and
Minimum Wage. Inquiries Journal, 6(06).
Alhejji, H., Ng, E.S., Garavan, T., and Carbery, R., 2018. The impact of formal and informal
distance on gender equality approaches The case of a British MNC in Saudi Arabia. Thunderbird
International Business Review, 60(2), pp.147-159.
AlKahtani, N.S., and Syed, A.M., 2018. Alignment of undergraduate business student's
competencies with Saudi market requirements. International Journal of Management in
Education, 12(3), pp.252-263.
Bourne, D.J., and Aldossari, M.A., 2016. Nepotism and Turnover Intentions amongst Knowledge
Workers in Saudi Arabia. In The Laws of the Knowledge Workplace (pp. 39-48). Routledge.
Elmulthum, N. and Elsayed, I., 2017. Prospects of Saudi Women’s Contribution to Job Market
under Saudi Vision 2030: An Empirical Analysis 1999-2015. International Journal of Applied
Sociology, 7(1), pp.20-27.
Gremm, J., Barth, J., Fietkiewicz, K.J. and Stock, W.G., 2018. The transition of Graduates into
the Labor Market. In Transitioning Towards a Knowledge Society (pp. 193-202). Springer,
Cham.
Hilal, K.T., Scott, S.R. and Maadad, N., 2015. The political, socio-economic and socio-cultural
impacts of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP) on Saudi Arabia. International
Journal of Higher Education, 4(1), p.254.
Ministry of Labor and Social Development, 2016). Saudi Arabia Labor Market Report 2016.
Labor Market Report, 3rd edition.
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Strategyand.pwc.com. 2018. Women’s Employment in Saudi Arabia: A Major Challenge.
[online] Available at
https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/me/home/what_we_think/40007409/40007869/47902935
[Accessed 16 Jul. 2018].
Trought, F., 2017. Brilliant employability skills: how to stand out from the crowd in the graduate
job market. Pearson UK.
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