Government departments and state-backed companies across the region have long been a source for comfortable jobs with very decent pay.
In such countries as Saudi Arabia and Qatar the number of public employees has exceeded the amount of work to do, resulting in bloated payrolls and offices filled with so-called "sofa men," an article in The Wall Street Journal read.
Recently, the issue was addressed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Taking into account grave budget deficit, Gulf nations need to create jobs in private sector, IMF head Christine Lagarde said last Sunday during a meeting with regional financial officials in Doha.
Earlier, in an IMF report, they warned that the budget deficit in Gulf oil-exporting nations would reach $1 trillion in five years.
Kuwait’s budget incomes have dropped by 60 percent due to the fall in oil prices, Kuwait’s Emir Sabah Ahmad al-Sabah said on October 27. In his speech before the National Assembly, the leader urged to take austerity measures.
