DUBAI: The number of job seekers in Oman rose by 11 percent by the end of July, and most of those are university graduates, national daily Times of Oman has reported.
Current figures suggest there are 50,000 Omanis seeking work, according to the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the report added.
The country’s population currently stands at approximately 4.7 million people.
And experts say graduates need to lower their wage expectations if they hope to find employment in their chosen field.
Meanwhile, in a bid to generate some income, many Omani graduates are taking whatever work they can find, including waiting and driving.
But they are prepared to take lower wages, if the right job is made available and matches their qualifications.
One such example is Saleh Al-Saidi, who has a diploma in applied chemistry, but has worked as a bus driver for the last two years.
“If I find a job relating to my specialty, I will accept it even if the pay is low,” Al-Saidi told the newspaper.
And English graduate, Abdulnasser Abdullah said: “For the past two years, I have worked in many part-time jobs, such as driver, water tank driver and car rental clerk, in a tourism company.”
According to information released by the NCSI this year, the majority of people looking for work are in the 25 to 29 age bracket – with most being college graduates, the report added.
Jasim Al-Baluchi, deputy head of Education and Professional Development said the increase in the number of graduates was a likely reason behind the increase in job seekers.
“A number of graduates are specific with the type of jobs they want, and so there aren’t enough job opportunities to facilitate the specific jobs required… They have to be more willing to work in any job at any level. There are many economic projects in Oman that job seekers could become a part of if they are willing,” Al-Baluchi explained.
Meanwhile some graduate job seekers are returning to education to try and increase their chances of finding employment, in fields such as teaching.
IT graduate Manal Al-Alawi was looking for a job for five years, before deciding to return to education.
“I decided to pursue a new degree with my own money, in the College of Education at Nizwa University, to help me become a math teacher… I think teachers have a better chance of being employed. In the last five years, I tried to apply to many jobs in my field, but I never got a reply.” Al-Alawi told the newspaper.
Of course returning to education carries its own obstacles and post graduates are facing high educational costs and as many as four years back in university.
The situation has become so significant that the hashtag “Omanis without jobs” was created on Twitter a few weeks ago and already seen 28,500 accounts vent their frustration with 600,000 tweets.
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Oman’s number of job seekers soars, majority are graduates
Oman’s number of job seekers soars, majority are graduates
Syrian army declares a closed military zone east of Aleppo as tensions rise with Kurds
ALEPPO, Syria: The Syrian army on Tuesday declared an area east of the northern city of Aleppo a “closed military zone,” potentially signaling another escalation between government forces and fighters with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Several days of clashes in the city of Aleppo last week that displaced tens of thousands of people came to an end over the weekend with the evacuation of Kurdish fighters from the contested neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud.
Since then, Syrian officials have accused the SDF of building up its forces near the towns of Maskana and Deir Hafer, about 60 km (37 mi) east of Aleppo city, something the SDF denied.
State news agency SANA reported that the army had declared the area a closed military zone because of “continued mobilization” by the SDF “and because it serves as a launching point for Iranian suicide drones that have targeted the city of Aleppo.”
On Saturday afternoon, an explosive drone hit the Aleppo governorate building shortly after two Cabinet ministers and a local official held a news conference on the developments in the city. The SDF denied being behind the attack.
The army statement Tuesday said armed groups should withdraw to the area east of the Euphrates River.
The tensions come amid an impasse in political negotiations between the central state and the SDF.
The leadership in Damascus under interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa signed a deal in March with the SDF, which controls much of the northeast, for it to merge with the Syrian army by the end of 2025. There have been disagreements on how it would happen.
Some of the factions that make up the new Syrian army, formed after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a rebel offensive in December 2024, were previously Turkiye-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.
The SDF has for years been the main US partner in Syria in fighting against the Daesh group, but Turkiye considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkiye. A peace process is now underway.
Despite the long-running US support for the SDF, the Trump administration in the US has also developed close ties with Al-Sharaa’s government and has pushed the Kurds to implement the March deal.
Shams TV, a station based in Irbil, the seat of northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, had been set to air an interview with Al-Sharaa on Monday but later announced it had been postponed for “technical” reasons without giving a new date for airing it.
Several days of clashes in the city of Aleppo last week that displaced tens of thousands of people came to an end over the weekend with the evacuation of Kurdish fighters from the contested neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud.
Since then, Syrian officials have accused the SDF of building up its forces near the towns of Maskana and Deir Hafer, about 60 km (37 mi) east of Aleppo city, something the SDF denied.
State news agency SANA reported that the army had declared the area a closed military zone because of “continued mobilization” by the SDF “and because it serves as a launching point for Iranian suicide drones that have targeted the city of Aleppo.”
On Saturday afternoon, an explosive drone hit the Aleppo governorate building shortly after two Cabinet ministers and a local official held a news conference on the developments in the city. The SDF denied being behind the attack.
The army statement Tuesday said armed groups should withdraw to the area east of the Euphrates River.
The tensions come amid an impasse in political negotiations between the central state and the SDF.
The leadership in Damascus under interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa signed a deal in March with the SDF, which controls much of the northeast, for it to merge with the Syrian army by the end of 2025. There have been disagreements on how it would happen.
Some of the factions that make up the new Syrian army, formed after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a rebel offensive in December 2024, were previously Turkiye-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.
The SDF has for years been the main US partner in Syria in fighting against the Daesh group, but Turkiye considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkiye. A peace process is now underway.
Despite the long-running US support for the SDF, the Trump administration in the US has also developed close ties with Al-Sharaa’s government and has pushed the Kurds to implement the March deal.
Shams TV, a station based in Irbil, the seat of northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, had been set to air an interview with Al-Sharaa on Monday but later announced it had been postponed for “technical” reasons without giving a new date for airing it.
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