On its main page, the Wall Street Journal presents an amusingly curt headline: Saudis Try Something New: Work. The full healine isn’t quite as dismissive: Saudis Try New Way To Fuel Economy: Going to Work. When you first hear about a nation of people who don’t have to work, it sounds like Utopia — but it’s not:
In the three decades since an oil boom showered wealth on the Arabian Peninsula, many Saudi citizens lost their taste for work. They collected paychecks from no-work government jobs, enjoyed long, state-funded studies abroad and were given lucrative sinecures at private companies. Meanwhile, legions of foreign workers were shipped in to man the kingdom’s real economy and to service the needs of Saudis. More than nine of 10 jobs in the Saudi private sector are held by foreign workers: Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Indians, Filipinos, Turks — and about 20,000 Americans.
The good times are over:
But, now, the rapid growth of the Saudi population — it has doubled, to 16 million, in the past quarter century — has brought a dose of economic reality. Even Saudi Arabia’s world-topping oil revenue hasn’t kept pace. Two decades ago, Saudi per capita income matched that of the U.S. Now it has shrunk to one-fifth of the U.S. level.
Here’s a cultural difference:
“I’m proud to be working, and people respect me more,” said Ahmed Hakim, 28, a flight attendant on Saudi Arabian Airlines, whose male cabin staffs are now exclusively Saudi. “Saudis used to think that even a pilot was something lowly, like a chauffeur, and wouldn’t let their daughters marry one. Now they’re happy for their daughters to marry a flight attendant like me.”
You don’t have to be an expert on statistics and demographics to know that you don’t want huge numbers of unemployed young men with nothing to do:
Official statistics show unemployment running at 35% among Saudi men age 20 to 24. A demographic tidal wave will soon make that worse. In the 2000 census, 56% of the Saudi population was under the age of 20. And frustration among idle youths has fueled not only a surge of car theft and joy-riding, but also Islamist extremism. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks on America were young Saudis.
The Saudi government handed out oil money, yet still levied large corporate taxes and custom duties (that it’s now reducing):
To spur the economy, the government is encouraging foreign investment and has reduced corporate taxes and customs duties. And to assure that it is Saudis who gain, the monarchy has recommitted itself to a “Saudization” program to replace foreign workers with Saudis. This year, the government listed 25 categories of jobs to be reserved for Saudis. Enforcement raids began this month with grocery stores and then gold shops. Stores selling clothes, toys, spare parts for cars and mobile phones are next on the list.