RIYADH – Saudi Arabia’s expatriate workers are leaving the kingdom by thethousands, and the exodus may not yet be over which includes Pakistaninational also.

As companies struggle with slower business and authorities impose more feeson foreigners, the biggest Arab economy is losing some of its allure toexpats who once flocked to a country awash with petrodollars.

The number of foreign workers declined by 6 percent to 10.2 million in thefirst three months of 2018 compared with a year ago, taking the cumulativedrop over the five past quarters to about 700,000, according to officialdata released this month. The losses in the first quarter were in sectorsincluding construction — usually dominated by low-cost laborers — as wellas trade and manufacturing.

But the data also show unemployment among Saudi nationals rising slightlyto 12.9 percent, underscoring the struggle to create jobs as the economyslowly recovers from the worst economic slowdown since the financial crisisin 2009.Creating jobs for Saudis is a priority for Crown Prince Mohammed binSalman, the driving force behind the country’s plan to reduce itsdependence on oil. Under the National Transformation Program, thegovernment targeted an unemployment rate of 9 percent by 2020, according todata on the website of the program.

“We are expecting the rate of job losses for expats to remain elevated overthe course of the year,” Mohamed Abu Basha, an economist at investment bankEFG-Hermes in Cairo, wrote in a report. He attributed the forecast torising fees, efforts to nationalize jobs and the “weak” economic backdrop.

[image: expats]The government started imposing a 100 riyals ($26.6) a monthon expat dependents in July 2017. The fee is set to reach 400 riyals amonth in July 2020.

Gross domestic product grew 1.2 percent in the first three months comparedwith a year ago, the first expansion in five quarters, as oil pricesincreased. Private-sector growth, however, remained muted at 1.1 percent.

As the kingdom emerges from last year’s recession, job creation will likelylag behind the economic recovery, said John Sfakianakis, director ofeconomic research at the Gulf Research Center.

“Dependents fees for lower income expatriates as well as greater efforts tonationalize the workforce make it less economically opportune for foreignworkers.”