Bangladeshi workers to reap benefits as Saudi job market expands
Some 6.12 lakh workers went to the Gulf country in the last year
As the Saudi Arabian labour market is forecast to surge substantially this year, manpower recruiting agencies in Bangladesh are expecting an uptick in hiring in the Gulf country this year.
A recent study by the Dubai-based recruitment consultancy firm Cooper Fitch found that a whopping 57% of companies in Saudi Arabia are planning to expand their workforce over the next twelve months.
Of the companies surveyed, one-third were planning to increase their payroll by up to 9%, and nearly a quarter were aiming to raise their staff size by more than 10%.
Despite the Saudi government's Saudization initiative to employ more local workers, local manpower industry stakeholders say the demand for migrant workers in lower-skilled jobs will remain unhurt.
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"Saudi Arabia mainly hires workers from Bangladesh in low-profile jobs such as construction workers, cleaners, housemaids," said Ali Haider Chowdhury, former general secretary of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira).
"Currently, they give importance to the employment of their local people, but the demand for Bangladeshi workers will continue," he told The Business Standard.
These opportunities come as welcome news for Bangladesh, which is looking to send a record 15 lakh workers abroad in the current year. According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), some 6.12 lakh workers went to the Gulf country last year.
Saudi Arabia, the top destination for Bangladeshi migrants, generated 54% of all 11.35 lakh annual overseas jobs last year.
Furthermore, Cooper Fitch reported that 43% of Saudi employers are planning salary adjustments in 2023, with wages increasing by just over 3%, making it a prime time for Bangladeshi workers to cash in on the country's labour market boom.
"This figure is based not only on the data we have gathered through our survey but also on broader recruitment trends witnessed in the market during the past year," Trefor Murphy, Cooper Fitch's founder and CEO, told Arab News.
"Saudi Arabia's economy is expanding rapidly, and [we expect] development and diversification to continue swiftly in 2023," Murphy said.
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is looking to accelerate its diversification investments in 2023, following a record budget surplus of $39.9 billion in the first nine months of 2022.
The kingdom has seen impressive economic growth, with GDP rising by a staggering 8.6% YoY as of the end of September 2022, due mostly to oil price surges.
In addition, Saudi Arabia has also seen a steady influx of investments in recent years, particularly in growth sectors such as private equity, venture capital, and mergers and acquisitions.
"Saudi employers are looking to hire more Bangladeshi nationals," said Khaled Hossain, director of a local recruiting agency.
Khaled Hossain participated in a job fair in Saudi Arabia in December 2022, where he had talks with Saudi employers about bringing in more workers from Bangladesh.
"Currently 20-30 workers are going to Saudi Arabia through our agency every month with a minimum salary of Tk22,000-Tk40,000. We charge Tk2.60 lakh per worker for the migration," he told The Business Standard.
Powered by an industrial boom
According to a new report by British recruitment specialist Hays, the industrial sector in Saudi Arabia is poised to take the employment market by storm in 2023, thanks to the surge of mega-projects such as the construction of a 75-mile mega-city in Neom and a growing number of organisations setting up shop in the kingdom.
These projects are driving the creation of new jobs across a variety of industries, with the highest demand in manufacturing and logistics.
The report notes that mid-to-senior level Saudi and expatriate professionals willing to switch jobs are being offered salary increases of between 20% and 30%.
The report also cites the National Industrial Development and Logistics Programme as a key driver behind the job boom, as it pushes for a higher quota of Saudization in specific roles and professions.
This has led to a growing demand for Saudi national talent at the mid-to-senior level. However, the report notes that these government mega-projects also require talent from around the world to get them off the ground.
These developments are part of Saudi Arabia's larger plan to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons, which has already created tens of thousands of new jobs in the past four years as part of its Vision 2030 plan.
