KUWAIT: The latest labor force statistics in Kuwait issued by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) as of the end of Q1 2024, indicate that the size of labor force in Kuwait increased by 3.6 percent and reached 2.147 million employees excluding household workers (2.073 million workers as of the end of Q1 2023), if that increase is correct and true, that contradicts all the goals of the demographic adjustments.

Adding the household labor - family sector - which is about 789,000 workers, the total would be 2.936 million workers (2.853 million workers as of the end of Q1 2023). Household workers constitute nearly 26.9 percent of total labor force in Kuwait as of the end of Q1 2024 (27.3 percent of the total labor force as of the end of Q1 2023). The average monthly wage of Kuwaiti male workers in the public sector is KD 1,953 (KD 1,929 end of Q1 2023).

The Kuwaiti female wage average is KD 1,375 (KD 1,350 end of Q1 2023), a difference of 42.0 percent in favor of men’s wages. The monthly salary average of non-Kuwaiti males in the public sector scored KD 805 (KD 787 end of Q1 2023). For non-Kuwaiti females, the average wage is KD 721 (KD 698 end of Q1 2023) with a 11.6 percent difference in favor of males. The gender gap is more equitable in the case of non-Kuwaitis.

The average monthly wage for Kuwaitis of both genders in the public sector is KD 1,607 (KD 1,583 end of Q1 2023). The same average for non-Kuwaitis is KD 762 (KD 742 end of Q1 2023), with a 110.8 percent difference in favor of Kuwaitis. The monthly average wage of Kuwaiti males in the private sector is KD 1,643 (KD 1,589 end of Q1 2023), less by 15.9 percent versus that of males in the public sector.

The average for Kuwaiti females in the private sector is KD 1,066 (KD 1,001 end of Q1 2023), that is -22.5 percent less than that of their female colleagues in the public sector. Undoubtedly, the government support leads to reduce the gap between Kuwaiti employees in the private and the public sector. The monthly average wage of non-Kuwaiti males in the private sector is KD 308 (KD 305 end of Q1 2023), this equals 38.2 percent of the average salaries of their non-Kuwaiti colleagues in the public sector.

The average monthly wage for non-Kuwaiti females in the private sector is KD 423 (KD 425 end of Q1 2023), which is higher than the average salary of non-Kuwaiti males in the private sector by 37.6 percent, but lower than the average rate of non-Kuwaiti females in the public sector by -41.3 percent. In case of the overall wage average in both the public and private sectors, the monthly average wage of Kuwaiti males is KD 1,892 (KD 1,862 end of Q1 2023) and KD 1,334 for Kuwaiti females (KD 1,304 end of Q1 2023), with a 41.8 percent difference in favor of males.

The monthly average wage for non-Kuwaiti males is KD 320 (KD 318 end of Q1 2023) and KD 479 for non-Kuwaiti females (KD 481 end of Q1 2023), a 49.7 percent difference in favor of females. The average monthly wage for male and female Kuwaitis in the two sectors is KD 1,568 (KD 1,538 end of Q1 2023) and KD 340 for non-Kuwaitis (KD 337 end of Q1 2023). Note that the figures above do not include household labor that would have a significant downward impact on the non-Kuwaiti wage rates if taken into consideration, nor do they include the governmental support allocations to Kuwaiti workers in the private sector.

The number of Kuwaiti employees in the government sector according to the CSB is 384,000 workers and rising by 2.9 percent (373,000 workers by end of Q1 2023), while the number of Kuwaiti employees in the private sector is 73,600 workers (71,700 workers by end of Q1 2023). The Kuwaiti workforce is distributed between 83.9 percent in the public sector and 16.1 percent in the private sector.

About 48.7 percent of Kuwaitis working in the public sector are university graduates, 4.8 percent have postgraduate degrees, 13.3 percent have diplomas above high school but below university degrees, and 20.1 percent are holders of high school certificates or equivalent. This shows that about 86.9 percent of government employees are holders of high school certificates and above. That is because the main reason of salary increase is the level of the certificate held, without taking into account the need for it or the authenticity of said certificate. — Al-Shall Report