Kuwait Q1 job growth was slowest in five years

Employment in Kuwait expanded by around 5.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2011, its slowest growth rate in nearly five years, according to a Kuwaiti bank.

The growth in the first three months of 2011 extended a slowdown in civilian employment triggered by the 2008 global fiscal crisis, which also led to massive job losses in the region, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said in a study.

“Kuwaiti civilian employment growth was steady at 5.2 per cent at the end of 1Q11. Growth has been slipping since the world financial crisis of 2008 and in 1Q11 was the slowest since 2006,” the study said.

It showed the total Kuwaiti workforce including non-civilians increased by 6,300 during 2010, growing at a slightly slower rate of 4.8 per cent.

“New civilian jobs in the first quarter of 2011 further confirm the slowing trend, even after accounting for the seasonality in first quarter figures.”

The report showed the number of first time employed in the Gulf emirate in1Q11 was the smallest in over five years at 2,700.

Around 14,600 new jobs were created in the 12 months through the end of 1Q11, a figure that is slightly lower than a year before, when it stood at 15,800.

“Still, growth continued at a relatively healthy rate. The pace of growth in the workforce was twice as rapid as growth in the Kuwaiti working age population, which stood at 2.6 per cent in 2010. This is likely owing in part to the increased labor participation of women over the years.”

According to NBK, the growth lead that employment of Kuwaiti women had in previous years appears to have faded.

It said that in 2007 and 2008, as many as 60 per cent of new jobs went to women. Since then, the percent of new jobs going to women has decreased, falling to 55 per cent in 2010 and 48 per cent in Q11.

The report noted that the private sector in Kuwait remains the largest source of first time employment, adding that hiring of Kuwaitis by the private sector has held up quite well over the last year, even showing some improvement.

“In Q11, about 60 per cent of new jobs were at private employers…..despite this, growth of the private sector Kuwaiti workforce continued to slow during the last 12 months. Year-on-year growth ell to seven per cent at the end of 1Q11 compared to 16 per cent a year before,” it said.

“This may reflect a slowdown in activity in the private sector…. nonetheless, growth in this sector remained more rapid than the overall workforce.”

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