What may, to some extent, slow down the growth of the foreign labor? This may occur
because of the following reasons:
• There will be a growing number of nationals looking for jobs each year due to the
demographic factors: the birth rate of nationals in the GCC states is very high (3.5 on
average), and almost half of the local population is under 15 years of age.
• The nationals will become better educated, which will allow them to compete more
effectively against the foreign labor in the private sector. Moreover, when facing the
growing unemployment (especially high in Saudi Arabia15), the nationals will gradually
change their work ethic and grow more willing to accept the low-prestige jobs currently
held by foreigners (Kapiszewski, 2001, pp. 210-211).
• National women will increase their presence in the workforce, in terms of the numbers
especially in Saudi Arabia.
• The nationalization policies will create more jobs for nationals each year