Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Labor will begin replacing Saudi Arabia's foreign workers in five new jobs next Monday in a bid to reduce the country's unemployment rate by more than 12 percent, the German Press Agency reported.
Localization will include "medical equipment stores, construction and building materials shops, auto spare parts shops, carpet shops and confectionery shops."
According to the ministry, the resettlement process comes in an attempt to reduce unemployment rates and reform the labor market.
The process of replacing local workers in a number of occupations in Saudi Arabia has been stalled since the very beginning, with many shops closed and enterprises not being committed to decisions.
The Ministry of Economy aspires to reduce the rate of unemployment among citizens from 12.9% currently to about 10.6% by 2020, and the Kingdom aims to reduce its unemployment rate to 7% in 2030.
Over the past two years, the Saudi authorities have worked to settle jobs in many economic sectors, stipulating local employment only in various sectors such as insurance, communications and transportation.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Development issued a decision last year to settle 12 sectors, as of mid-September last.
Moody's credit ratings suggested earlier that GCC job resettlement policies would increase labor costs and impede diversification of resources.