THERE was a five per cent drop in the number of new work permits issued for expats during the second quarter of the year, according to latest market indicators published by a government watchdog.
However, the total number of permits issued by the end of Q2 2024 reached 631,763, an increase of 3.8pc over 608,411 permits issued by the end of Q2 2023. Unlike previous years, data regarding employment among Bahrainis, and other statistics related to citizens entering the job market, wages breakdown and other details were missing from the Labour Market Regulatory Authority’s (LMRA) latest report.
“The number of new employment work permits issued by LMRA during the second quarter of 2024 was 33,740 showing an annual decrease rate of 5pc,” said the report.
“The share of organisations employing fewer than 10 workers of employment work permits was 54pc of total new employment work permits issued during the second quarter of 2024.”
The highest number of new work permits continues to be issued for the construction sector (23pc), followed by wholesale and retail trade (20pc) and accommodation and food service activities (14pc).
The total number of new permits issued by LMRA during the second quarter of this year was 41,792 permits, out of which, 33,740 were employment work permits, 1,566 investor permits and 6,486 for dependants.
In addition, 7,304 new permits were issued for domestic workers in Q2 2024, indicating a 12.6pc increase compared to Q2 2023.
Overall, there was an 8.6pc fall in number of permits issued in Q2 2024, compared to 45,730 permits issued in Q2 2023. Also missing in the report are details of the nationalities of domestic workers registered with LMRA and the average wages of Bahrainis. The number of permit renewals during Q2 2024 reached 116,663, out of which 99,279 were for employment, 2,958 for investors and 14,426 for dependants.
The number of renewals increased by 8.1pc compared to 107,912 in Q2 2023. During Q2 2024, the LMRA also processed 28,670 work permit terminations out of which 23,778 were for employment, 492 for investors and 4,400 for dependants.
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