Saudi unemployment stays at record high as companies struggle | Reuters

Saudi unemployment stays at record high as companies struggle | Reuters:

Unemployment among Saudi Arabian citizens stayed at a record high of 12.9 percent in the second quarter of this year, as private companies remained reluctant to hire despite rising oil prices, according to official figures released on Thursday.

The data suggest Saudi economic reforms, launched more than two years ago, are still having little success in creating jobs or developing non-oil industries.

In an effort to persuade foreign capital to back the reforms, authorities plan an international investment conference in Riyadh next week, but the furore over the disappearance of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi has caused dozens of Western executives and officials to cancel their participation.