Unemployment figures indicate slight drop

Unemployment figures indicate slight drop


Encouraging trend: Minister of Home Affairs Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Adanan Begawan Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato Seri Setia Hj Mohd Yusof taking down notes during the meeting.Picture: BT/Ubaidillah Masli
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

BRUNEI'S latest unemployment figures for locals official registered with the Labour Department stands close to 5,089 people who are currently out there in search of jobs. The statistics update was disclosed yesterday during the Minister of Home Affairs' working visit to the Pusat Pekerjaan Tempatan, the Employment Centre for Locals, which was followed by a meeting where the centre's progress was discussed.

Previously, the figure stood at 6,025 unemployed locals, but with the help of the department, 936 of these individuals have managed to find jobs in the private and public sectors. According to the statistics, 83 per cent of those unemployed were individuals who left school before or just slightly after successfully completing their Secondary Five education.

Home Affairs Minister Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Adanan Begawan Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato Seri Setia Hj Mohd Yusof stressed the importance of addressing the issue during the meeting with the officials from the Labour Department and the centre.

"(This is) a challenge we must face together as it is the role of the Pusat Pekerjaan Tempatan to ensure that these unemployed people are helped to find jobs in Brunei Darussalam," he said.

During the meeting, the minister was briefed on the functions of the centre's action plans and the progress of the special programme for unemployed graduates and school-leavers under the human resource fund which was organised by the Labour Department and supported by the Economic Planning and Development Department.

From the statistics, approximately 69 per cent of those in the private sector were foreign workers and only 31 per cent was local. Pehin Dato Hj Adanan said that the centre should work towards the target of increasing the private workforce to 50 per cent local and roughly 50 per cent foreign employees.

At present there was a total of 79,000 foreigners working in the private sector, not including those who were employed as domestic helpers, gardeners and drivers.

He said that it was necessary to focus and identify which jobs had the most potential in solving the problem of unemployment.

Last year, some 6,991 people registered with the Labour Department as considered unemployed individuals. (ODM1)

The Brunei Times