Only Saudis can work for ride-hailing companies like Uber, Careem, says government
The Saudi Arabian government said on Wednesday that only Saudi nationals will be allowed to work for ride-hailing companies in future, a move aimed at creating jobs for young people in the private sector.
Finding jobs for hundreds of thousands of unemployed Saudis is a major challenge for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who oversees economic policy for the world's top oil exporter, where unemployment currently stands at 12 percent.
Read more: Uber launches new feature for Saudi women drivers to choose passengers
The state news agency SPA quoted the minister of human resources and social development, Ahmed bin Suleiman al-Rajhi, as saying the move would help boost the income of young Saudis.
The human resources ministry has previously restricted employment in a number of retail sectors and sub-sectors to Saudis only, such as in shops selling furniture, car parts, watches, spectacles or sweets.
The government aims to create 1.2 million jobs for Saudi nationals by 2022 and cut their jobless rate to 9 percent by the same year and then to 7 percent by 2030.
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