GCC's industrial workforce more than doubles since 2005

The GCC’s industrial sector is continuing to grow, with the number of people it employs more than doubling since 2005, according to new research by the Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC).

In a report on manufacturing industries in GCC countries, the GOIC said most recent figures reveal the labour force has risen sharply from about 774,000 workers in 2005 to more than 1.6 million workers in 2015, achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8 percent.

GOIC also said that the value of the GDP contribution of GCC manufacturing industries more than doubled in the same period while net labour productivity saw “a gradual improvement”.

The research said the average industrial sector worker’ productivity rose from $83,900 in 2005 to more than $105,000 in 2014.

The report showed that the manufacture of fabricated metal products made up more than a quarter of the total manufacturing work force in the Gulf, followed by cement and building materials (about 16.8%), chemical and petrochemical products, and food products and beverages.

The GOIC said Saudi Arabia was ranked first in terms of labour force in the manufacture of fabricated metal products in GCC countries in 2015.

Its share of the total labour force in this sector throughout the GCC is about 53.3 percent, followed by the UAE (28.8 percent). Similarly, Saudi Arabia was ranked first for cement and building materials.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE were ranked equal first for chemicals and petrochemicals, food products and beverages and the manufacture of basic metals while the UAE topped the list for employing most in the manufacture of textiles, wearing apparel and leather.