Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): The number of unemployed graduates is expected to reach a record this summer in Bahrain with the graduation of 3,000 students from the University of Bahrain and other private universities at a time the government fails to find solutions for the issue of unemployment.

The University of Bahrain expects the graduation of about 3,000 students at the end of the new scholastic years, which means that thousands will join the scores of unemployment in the country.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on Bahrainization of Jobs, MP Ibrahim Al-Nafei, said that between 2,500 and 3,000 students are expected to graduate this semester.

The commission expressed its concern that the labor market would not contain this number of graduates, which will raise the unemployment rate among Bahrainis.

Bahrain doesn't reveal the real numbers of the unemployed in the island kingdom. The government says that percentage of unemployment has been at 4.5% for years, despite the increase of graduates and unemployed every year. Meanwhile, international organizations state that the unemployment rate in Bahrain exceeds 15%.

Only relying on government figures, the number of unemployed which is around 5,600 is expected to increase by the end of the scholastic year.

In addition to the 3,000 university graduates from the University of Bahrain and at least a 1,000 others from other local universities as well as those studying abroad, the unemployed graduates will reach up to 10,000 this summer.

The government fails to find out a solution for the worsening problem.

According to the announced statistics, the number of unemployed registered at the ministry of works amounts to 10,275, 74% of whom are females; which is equal to 7,600 job seekers, and 26% are males, which means around 2,675 unemployed.

The rate of unemployed graduates in Bahrain is around 55%.

After major pressures to address the aggravating unemployment problem, the government announced on February 25, 2019 a national project to hire the unemployed.

None of the relevant parties, such as the General Federation of Workers Trade Unions in Bahrain (GFWTUB), had a say in drafting the project that hasn't achieved any progress since its launch five months ago.

Although the government announced referring 9,000 employees to the voluntary retirement program in its attempt to deal with the increasing public debt, this number will not be met with additional jobs in the government sector.

The increase of unemployed citizens every year warrants that the government deal with the issue with transparency and allow the participation of all parties in drafting a real national project that would tackle unemployment or else the issue will become a ticking bomb.

Arabic Version