Search for other papers by International Monetary Fund in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
A distinguishing feature of the GCC countries is the significant proportion of expatriate workers in the labor force and the segmentation of their labor markets. Better educated nationals traditionally have been attracted to the government sector because of higher wages and generous benefits; early retirement with pension; and job security and social status associated with government employment. Private sector activity is heavily dependent on expatriate labor, which is readily available on the basis of fixed term, job-specific contracts under the sponsorship of nationals. Wages of expatriate workers are substantially lower than those for nationals at similar skill levels, and there are no significant nonwage benefits in the private sector. The segmentation of the labor market is such that in some GCC countries as much as 90 percent of the national labor force is employed in the public sector with expatriate workers comprising a comparably high ratio in the private sector.
International Monetary Fund Copyright © 2010-2025. All Rights Reserved.