Uplifting national workers' skills commended

Manama, Nov 24 (BNA): During the weekly Council of Representatives meeting held today, Labour and Social Development Minister Jameel Mohammed Ali Humaidan said that the unemployment rate in the country is 3.1%, representing approximately six thousand unemployed workers, according to the Labour ministry's statistics. The minister noted that the total number of labour working in the private, government and irregular sectors is 158 thousand. He praised the institutions' efforts aimed at improving the national workers' skills, denying attempts to employ unqualified Bahrainis. He lauded Bahrain's experience in fighting unemployment rate which is the lowest among Gulf and Arab countries. He pointed out the ministry's efforts to develop programmes and initiatives to contribute to strengthening the labor market infrastructure and bringing the labour market needs into harmony with education and training outputs. He explained that the ministry's main responsibility is to provide decent jobs for Bahrainis, noting the stability of the unemployment rate at 3.1% during the last four months. With regard to the Vacancies Bank, the minister said that there are six thousand jobs available, in addition to new part-time work projects launched by the ministry which have provided solutions to many housewives. The minister added that the retail, construction, crafts and hospitality sectors will provide many employment opportunities for young Bahrainis.