Oman Budget 2017: Government to limit jobs this year

Muscat: Recruitment, in public sector during 2017, will be very limited, the Ministry of Finance has said in its State Budget report.
“Due to the challenges facing the budget resulting from the sharp fall of oil prices, and higher spending on salaries and wages, the recruitment, in public sector during 2017, will be very limited,” the report adds.
The report adds that private sector is expected to create job opportunities for Omani youths, through the establishment of investment projects that have economic returns.
Statistics, issued by National Center of Statistics and Information (NCSI), show the number of Omani workforce, working in private sector, has increased to 222,000 in 2016, increasing by 13,000.
“This reveals that private sector has been able to recruit such number of citizens, and thus may create further 12,000 – 13,000 jobs over 2017,” the report adds.
According to the report, the Ministry of Finance has provided allocations required for activating the role of National Training Fund in order to advance recruitment efforts in private sector.
As the government seeks to increase the role of the private sector, Tanfeedh is being given prime focus in Oman's budget strategy.
Tanfeedh’s program was adopted to ensure implementing the objectives of the Ninth Five Year plan especially those pertaining to economic diversification.
The budget says that an Implementation and Follow-up Support Unit has been established and this unit will help to speed up the implementation of initiatives and projects recommended by Tanfeedh.
So far, Tanfeedh has proposed 121 initiatives and projects across several economic sectors, which the budget statement said will create 30,000 jobs and contribute OMR1.7bn to the GDP.