The latest labor force statistics in Kuwait issued by the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) as of the end of the Q1 2022 indicate that the size of labor force in Kuwait is 1.885 million employees excluding the number of household workers (1.947 million workers as of end of Q1 2021). If we add the household labor (family) sector which is about 613,000 workers, the total will be 2.498 million workers (2.599 million workers as of end of Q1 2021). This means an estimated 100,000-worker drop within one year. Household workers constitute nearly 24.5 percent of total labor force in Kuwait as of the end of Q1 of 2022 (25.1 percent of the total labor force as of end of Q1 2021).

The average monthly wage of Kuwaiti male workers in the public sector is KD 1,888 (KD 1,869 at end of Q1 2021). The Kuwaiti female wage average is KD 1,318 (KD 1,306 in end of Q1 2021), a difference of 43.2 percent in favor of men’s wages. The monthly salary average of non-Kuwaiti males in the public sector scored KD 784 (KD 759 in end of Q1 2021). For non-Kuwaiti females, the average wage is KD 698 (KD 685 in end of Q1 2021) with a 12.3 percent difference in favor of males. The gender gap is more equitable in the case of non-Kuwaitis. The average monthly wage for Kuwaitis of both genders in the public sector is KD 1,548 (KD 1,534 in end of Q1 2021). The same average for non-Kuwaitis is KD 741 (KD 722 in end of Q1 2021), with a 108.9 percent difference in favor of Kuwaitis.

Private sector wages

The monthly average wage of Kuwaiti males in the private sector is KD 1,567 (KD 1,497 in end of Q1 2021), which is 17 percent less than that of males in the public sector. The average for Kuwaiti females in the private sector is KD 994 (KD 946 in end of Q1 2021), which is 24.6 percent less than that of their female colleagues in the public sector. Undoubtedly, the government support leads to reduce the gap between the private and the public sector.

The monthly average wage of non-Kuwaiti males in the private sector is KD 309 (KD 294 in end of Q1 2021). This equals 39.4 percent of the average salaries of their non-Kuwaiti colleagues in the public sector. The average monthly wage for non-Kuwaiti females in the private sector is KD 435 (KD 407 in end of Q1 2021), which is higher than the average salary of non-Kuwaiti males in the private sector by 40.8 percent, but lower than the average rate of non-Kuwaiti females in the public sector by 37.8 percent.

In case of the overall wage average in both the public and private sectors, the monthly average wage of Kuwaiti males is KD 1,823 (KD 1,791 in end of Q1 2021) and KD 1,272 for Kuwaiti females (KD 1,251 in end of Q1 2021), with a 43.3 percent difference in favor of males. The monthly average wage for non-Kuwaiti males is KD 322 (KD 306 in end of Q1 2021) and KD 493 for non-Kuwaiti females (KD 468 in end of Q1 2021), a 53 percent difference in favor of females.

The monthly average wage for male and female Kuwaitis in the two sectors is KD 1,504 (KD 1,479 in end of Q1 2021) and KD 342 for non-Kuwaitis (KD 324 in end of Q1 2021). Note that the figures above do not include household labor that would have a significant downward impact on the non-Kuwaiti wage rates if taken into consideration, nor do they include the governmental support allocations to Kuwaiti workers in the private sector.

The number of Kuwaiti employees in the government sector according to the CSB is 362,100 workers (338,500 workers by end of Q1 2021). The number of Kuwaiti employees in the private sector is 72,700 workers (72,900 workers by end of Q1 2021). This indicates that the Kuwaiti workforce is distributed between 83.3 percent in the public sector and 16.7 percent in the private sector. About 45.1 percent of Kuwaitis working in the public sector are university graduates, 4.5 percent have postgraduate degrees, 13.9 percent have diplomas above high school but below university degrees, and 21 percent are holders of high school certificates or equivalent. This shows that about 84.5 percent of government employees are holders of high school certificates and above. That being said, the ongoing low productivity of the public sector is due to crowded and unorganized work environment, incompatible educational and labor market requirements, poor education quality, or even the spread of fake degrees.

Household workers

Approximately a quarter of total expatriate workers in Kuwait are household workers, totaling at 613,000 (according to the Central Statistical Bureau) at the end of Q1 2022 (651,000 workers in end of Q1 2021). The figure is divided almost equally between males 306,000 and females 307,000. Indian male workers take the lead with 205,000 workers (215,000 at end of Q1 2021), while Filipinos represent the largest female non-national workers of 140,000 (139,000 workers in end of Q1 2021).

India has the highest share of non-national household workers of both genders constituting 47.5 percent of the total household workers, followed by the Philippines by 23 percent. Four nationalities namely India, Philippines, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka capture 95.2 percent of total household workers out of 10 nationalities. The six other nationalities form the rest, 1.9 percent for the highest and 0.2 percent as the lowest contributions. Three African countries are among the countries exporting household labor, led by Ethiopia at 1.7 percent then Benin and Sudan at 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent respectively.

If we merge the numbers of household workers with other expats categories, according to nationalities, Indians make up 726,000 workers (787,000 workers in the end of Q1 2021) or 29.1 percent of total labor force including Kuwaiti employees and 35.2 percent of total foreign labor force, taking the lead in both cases. The Egyptian labor force follows by a total of 450,000 workers (471,000 workers in the end of Q1 2021), forming 18 percent of total labor force and 21.8 percent of total expat labor force.

The Kuwaiti workforce comes third at 435,000 (411,000 workers in the end of Q1 2021) forming 17.4 percent of the total labor force. That percentage might rise if the numbers include the military. Bangladesh comes fourth with a total of 235,000 workers (246,000 workers in the end of Q1 2021). Making up 9.4 percent of total labor force and 11.4 percent of total expat workers. The Philippines occupies the fifth position in total employment by 204,000 workers (209,000 workers at the end of the year 2020), about 8.2 percent of total labor force and 9.9 percent of total expat work force. – Al-Shall Report/KT