Nowadays, everyone is talking about the pandemic and what effect it might have on the world economy. COVID-19 also has a pretty significant effect on foreign labor outflow in Kuwait. This is no joking matter as people in all spheres of the economy are getting affected. Even residential moving companies Kuwait have reported such outflow. This will have a significant impact on entire Kuwait’s economy. Basically, there are three segments of people that this is affecting. This article is going to explore all the implications this pandemic has on these segments.
Foreign labor outflow in Kuwait – The segments
Here are the three basic segments of foreign labor in Kuwait:
- Short-term residents
- Medium-term residents
- Long-term residents
Short-term residents
This is a group of people that are working in places such as gyms, retail stores, and tourism places. These sectors are the ones that were hit the most. Most of the people that were working in these sectors did not have financial reserves to weather this storm that was coming their way. They left the first chance they got. These people simply could not stay in the country and wait for their jobs to become available. This sector is definitely the one with the largest outflow of people. You can’t live in storage units Kuwait and other places are much more expensive. That is just the way it is.
Medium-term residents
The people in this group are those in managerial positions. There are many industries that employ such people, such as gas and oil industries. These are your consultants, your engineers, your educators. Most of these people have a dual passport and are living in Kuwait for a number of years. But most of the people that have left before the airports closed down are the teachers who do not have large salaries. This is a serious blow to Kuwait’s education. When it comes to Universities, the situation is a bit better as higher salaries mean that they can take larger risks and stay within the country.
Also, many construction workers and those working in the energy sector are now without a job and many of them will leave, as well. These are all talented foreigners whose expertise was vital and their loss is going to show in the coming months.
Foreign labor outflow in Kuwait – Long-term residents
This is a group of residents that works in critical positions in the economy. All sectors have representation and these people are the most important when considering the country’s economy. However, many of these are considering leaving the country and are re-evaluating their current options. An interesting thing is that many of them do not actually wish to leave, they are simply running out of money and they can’t keep up with the Kuwait living costs.
If this situation lasts for much longer, a lot more of these people will consider leaving the country. That could potentially strike a crippling blow to the economy as these people are working in critical positions. Kuwait can’t really afford to lose most of its foreign labor so suddenly.