Bahrain's policies to reduce unemployment highlighted

Cairo, Apr. 10 (BNA): Labour and Social Development Minister Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan chaired here today the kingdom's delegation to the 43rd session of the Arab Labour Conference, held here under the patronage of the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on April 10-17. In a statement on behalf of the kingdom, the minister affirmed that Bahrain has devised economic policies that created attractive economic environment that strengthened the stability and growth of the labour market and enhanced its ability to generate more jobs. At the same time, the citizens have been encouraged to launch small and medium-sized enterprises that create jobs for Bahraini youth and motivate them to be more productive, he said. Thanks to the leadership's sound directives, Bahrain has succeeded in maintaining the unemployment rate at the under 4% level through well-thought programmes and initiatives that addressed the roots of joblessness, consolidate human resources' skills and improved their ability to join the labour market. He called on Arab countries to adopt effective policies to reduce employment rates across the Arab world, which he said, has reached 17%. This can be done through strengthening economic growth, bridging the gap between education and training and the real needs of the labour market, in light of the current situation created by low oil prices and political conflicts and disputes that destabilised some countries' stability and economic growth, which, he said, reflected negatively on the employment rate and the living standards.