The month Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) witnessed two changes in the outsourcing sector –– about 21.20 per cent growth in worker migration and Saudi Arabia topples Qatar in the top hiring country list.

About 33,858 Nepalis joined foreign jobs in Chaitra as compared to the previous month's figure of 26,677.

According to the Department of Foreign Employment, Saudi Arabia has toppled Qatar as the top hiring destination with 9,214 workers being hired during the month.

Qatar was in second position hiring 9,181 workers followed by Malaysia (7,467), the United Arab Emirates (4,017) and Kuwait (1,817). There are no other changes in the list of the top hiring countries.

The department's data showed that there has been a significant fall in individual contracts in the last six months.

Individual contracts dropped by one-fifth in Chaitra as just 5,982 Nepalis joined foreign jobs on their own initiative.

The number of workers sent by outsourcing agencies was 27,926 in the month.

However, the number of women joining foreign jobs has fallen to 1,578 between midMarch and mid-April from 1,877 in Falgun (mid-February to mid-March). According to the department, the change was noticed when Israel and Lebanon did not hire a single woman migrant worker.

Kuwait tops in hiring Nepali women with 856 job offers followed by the United Arab Emirates (356), Malaysia (129), Qatar (79), Bahrain (72) and Saudi Arabia (34).

About 1,093 Nepalis joined lucrative jobs in South Korea during the month and about 1,085 reached the destination through the Employment Permit System. East Asian countries — Japan and Macau — hired 76 and 54 Nepalis, respectively, while Euro zone countries each hired nine workers.

Published on: 16 May 2012 | The Himalayan Times