Employment opportunities in Oman increased by 16.2% in 2022

Muscat: Overall employment opportunities during 2022 increased by 16.2 percent, reflecting the impact of sustained recovery of economic activities in the post-pandemic period, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) said in its Annual Report for the year 2022.

“The employment opportunities for Omani citizens and expatriate workers increased by 3.6 percent and 23.3 percent, respectively. A sharp increase in expatriate workers during 2022 primarily reflected the economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report added.

The CBO’s insightful report says that the Omani government has been according high priority to provide employment opportunities to citizens in line with the Oman Vision 2040.

Oman has a diverse economy that relies on several sectors, including oil and gas, financial sector, tourism, construction, and agriculture.

The government has been making efforts to diversify economic activities to create more employment opportunities for 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 adoption of remote work during the pandemic that 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 digitalisation 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 programmes, and business development services.

The number of Omani employees in the public sector increased by 3.5 percent, while the number of expatriate workers grew by 5.8 percent. Looking from the other perspective, 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 continued its effort towards enhancing the job opportunities for young Omanis.

The Ministry of Labour introduced the “Sahim” initiative in April 2022 aiming at encouraging jobseekers to utilise their skills, abilities and practical experiences to develop the economy, opening up new visas for investments, and gaining better competitive advantage. The Sahim initiative has successfully employed 5,000 jobseekers under a temporary contract work system in government agencies in various governorates. Private sector is expected to play a key role in the diversification of economic activities in the Sultanate and generate employment opportunities for both Omani citizens and expatriate workers.

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’s 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.