Muscat: As the government accords high priority to provide gainful employment opportunities to citizens in line with Oman Vision 2040, overall employment opportunities in 2022 increased by 16.2 percent, reflecting the impact of the sustained recovery of economic activities in the post-pandemic period.
The employment opportunities for Omani citizens and expatriate workers increased by 3.6 and 23.3 percent respectively.
An increase in expatriate workers during 2022 primarily reflected the recovery from a dip during the pandemic period, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) said in its annual report for 2022.
The number of Omani employees in the public sector increased by 3.5 percent. Omani nationals constituted 89.2 percent of the total employees in the public sector in 2022 as compared with 89.4 percent in 2021.
The government has been making efforts to diversify economic activities in the Sultanate which can also facilitate creating more employment opportunities for its citizens. Even though the oil sector remains the mainstay of the Omani economy, other sectors are also supporting employment generation in an increasing manner.
The government encouraged the adoption of remote work during the pandemic which helped contain the adverse impact on employment conditions. Besides, the government has been focusing on skill-building through various initiatives so that new employment opportunities in the area of information and technology, and digitalization could engage Omani citizens.
Additionally, several schemes have been launched to encourage entrepreneurship and self-employment among young Omani nationals, as well as promote small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The government has been taking various initiatives to create a more enabling environment for SMEs, including providing funding, training
programs, and business development services. opportunities for young Omanis.
The Ministry of Labor introduced the “Sahim” initiative in April 2022 aiming at encouraging jobseekers to utilize their skills, abilities, and practical experiences to develop the economy, open up new visas for investments, and gain a better competitive advantage.
The Sahim initiative has employed 5,000 jobseekers under a temporary contract work system in government agencies in various governorates.
The government has been implementing policies and initiatives to unlock Oman’s private sector potential in order to support the growth the sector has been witnessing.
Many segments in the private sector showed robust recovery in the post-pandemic period, leading to significant expansion in the sector employability.
As a result, overall employment in the private sector increased by 19.0 percent in 2022. While the jobs for citizens in the sector increased by 3.7 percent, expatriate workers increased by 23.8 percent with the return of workers following the easing of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
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