Highest number of expats employed in construction sector

Muscat: There are five economic activities in the Sultanate of Oman that account for 74.3 percent of the total expatriate workforce in the private sector, amounting to 1,449,358 workers.

The construction sector tops the list with more than 25 percent of expat workers employed here, according to the National Center for Statistics and Information.

The center’s monthly statistics showed that until the end of the first quarter of this year, the total number of workers in the construction sector, wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, manufacturing industries, household activities, accommodation and food services, reached 1,766,426.

The bulletin added that the number of expatriate workers in the construction sector amounted to 373,184, compared to 353,584 workers at the end of last year 2021, with an increase of 5.5 percent, while the number of workers in the wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles reached 216,493, compared to 206,868 workers at the end of last year, an increase of 4.7 percent.

The number of workers in the manufacturing sector activity reached 179,838, compared to 171,296 workers at the end of 2021. Households that employ individuals, and household activities in the production of non-distinguished goods and services for their own use, the number of expatriate workers reached 196,839, and the number of workers in accommodation and food services activities reached 110,72, compared to 103,471 workers at the end of last year.