Expat workers blamed for Saudi job shortage new research conducted by YouGovSiraj, global leaders in opinion polling reveals

458 Saudi men and women responded to an online survey in March 2008, concerning social issues in The Kingdom.

The study examines Saudi attitudes towards employment and availability of jobs.

Overwhelmingly, nearly 9 in 10 (86%) believe Saudi youth have difficulty in finding work.

66% of Saudis who feel this strongly believe this difficulty is due to the prevalence of expatriates and foreign workers in the country.

The country's lack of vocational education also plays a significant role, with half of respondents strongly believing it impacts job shortages.

A further 47% simply believe the number of graduates outweighs the number of jobs available.

A significant minority attribute blame to themselves: 23% of Saudis strongly believe job shortages are due to excessive "fussiness" among graduates in choosing jobs.

Significantly, of those who believe Saudi youth have difficulty finding work, 56% would consider moving abroad to find employment.

Nassim Ghrayeb, CEO of YouGovSiraj says:

"It is worrying in an economic boom that Saudis are struggling to find appropriate employment. While a number of different factors are contributing to this, there is clearly a strong perception that the highly experienced expatriate workforce is difficult to compete with. Interestingly these findings are not a consequence of economic factors. The continued focus on developments in education will certainly improve this situation and yield needed results".

This research is the second of a major series of polls designed by YouGovSiraj to reveal insights about Saudi consumers, which organizations in Saudi can use to improve their products and offerings, by better understanding their customers.

YouGovSiraj also aims to give back to society by helping to get Saudi's point of view better understood around the world. YouGovSiraj, a full service market research company, has offices in Riyadh and Jeddah.