Inspired by the domino-like collapse of many leaders throughout the Middle East during the Arab Spring, King Abdulla of Saudi Arabia has launched a domestic jobs effort. Historically, migrant workers have made up about 50 percent of the Saudi workforce. Under the king?s plan to fill Saudi jobs with Saudi workers, foreigners have a November deadline to rectify their immigration status or leave the country. Official figures place Saudi Arabia?s unemployment rate at 12 percent.
See "Saudi slice of Asia at risk as king aims jobs at locals: economy", Glen Carey, Bloomberg News, July 1, 2013