Stressing that the Kingdom places social welfare as one of its top priorities, several experts engaged in social work have called for the creation of a social security system that can be applied to unemployed youth. More specifically, they have called upon the authorities concerned to allocate in the state's budget funds to be paid to the unemployed in the form of temporary financial aid, Al-Watan Arabic daily said. Experts including lawmakers, educators and sociologists say that the creation of such a system and the allocation of such funds would protect youth from delinquency and from falling into the abyss of crime since such financial aid would allow them to cover their essential daily expenses until they find employment. Sociologists warn that the lack of such financial allocations would leave no choice for young men but to earn their living by involving themselves in illicit activities, such as, trading in weapons and contraband materials. Social experts say that the allocation of such funds by the state will strengthen and deepen the sense of belonging in youth besides protecting them from being exploited by extremist groups. They also stressed that healthy citizens have the right to be employed in jobs suiting their qualifications and abilities, and that if that is not possible, then they should be given financial aid to lead an honorable life. The latest statistics released by the General Statistics Department indicate that 10 percent of the Saudi population is unemployed. The same statistics show that 30 percent of unemployed youth have secondary school certificates, 37 percent have bachelor degrees, 80.4 percent of the unemployed are unmarried, 17.8 percent are married, 0.15 percent are widows and 1.7 percent are divorcees. Saad Awaad Al-Harithy, a graduate of Taif University majoring in Arabic, stressed the importance of allocating funds for unemployed Saudis, especially for those who are unmarried, so as to help them meet the expenses of the high cost of living. He said that although he graduated two years ago, he is still looking for a job and has so far not received a positive response, adding, “I have begun to realize that there is no demand for many theoretical specializations in the labor market. And if this is the case, then why are these specializations still being taught in the universities?” Majed Al-Zahrani, who has a degree in microbiology from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, said unemployed youth need to be financially aided by the government at least to enable them to meet their daily expenses especially those who are married. He said some of these unemployed young people are desperately looking for jobs in order to help their needy families, pointing out that these groups of job seekers are vulnerable to those criminal elements who wish to prey on them by exploiting their needs. Dr. Saleh Bin Jassem, a former member of the Shoura Council, said the issue of allocating funds for unemployed youth was raised at the Shoura, noting that Article 23 of the Shoura bylaws allows the suggestion of a law or the amendment of a law, and thus the members are trying to amend the Labor Law to include new clauses to allow the paying of financial aid to unemployed job seekers. Brigadier Yousuf Al-Qahtani, spokesman of Police in the Eastern Province, has warned that the need of unemployed youth for money often forces them to steal and trade in contraband materials. He said most European countries pay social security to unemployed citizens, pointing out that the funds cease as soon as the unemployed person finds a job. “I need not mention that this protects youth from delinquency, and thus I think it is high time to implement this system in the Kingdom.” __
