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Youth make up major part of private sector workforce

22 Aug 2021

In ongoing Omanisation efforts, unlike a decade ago when young jobseekers preferred government jobs to private sector positions, current statistics indicate a change in the trend. Omani youth now constitute a significant part of the private sector workforce.

According to National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) data for 2020, there were 549,969 Omani youth in the age group of 18 to 29 years, which was 20.1 per cent  of the Omani population of 2,731,456. 

NCSI has stated that the total number of employed youth in the sultanate in the 18 to 29 age group was 178,600 (79 per cent males and 21 per cent females), constituting 24 per cent of the total Omani working population in 2020.

Of the 178,600, close to 78,000 worked in private sector companies, 79,600 for the government and the remaining in other sectors. 

According to the 2020 data, the number of young Omani business owners in the 18 to 29 age group was 26,189, representing 17.7 per cent of the total Omani business owners in the sultanate. Of these, 77.7 per cent were males.

Additionally, among the Omani youth working in the public sector, 60.8 per cent held General Education Diplomas, 13.7 per cent had Bachelor’s or higher degrees, 7.6 per cent with higher diplomas, and 17.9 per cent without General Education Diplomas.

In the private sector, construction businesses attracted the most number of youth – 23.5 per cent. It was followed by wholesale and retail trade of vehicles and motorcycles (14.5 per cent), manufacturing sector (12.8 per cent) and mining and quarrying (9.3 per cent). Financial and insurance activities had the least takers.

The largest number of young business owners in 2020 were concentrated in Muscat governorate (4,730), followed by Dhofar (4,570) and North Batinah (4,415).

 

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