Quarter of a Million Omani Firms Employ Zero Citizens

Explosive data released by Oman's Ministry of Labour has revealed a staggering disparity in the nation's private sector employment landscape. Over 245,000 private establishments in Oman, representing the vast majority of businesses, employ a total of 1.1 million expatriate workers while completely failing to hire any Omani citizens. This alarming statistic underscores the significant challenges facing Omanisation, the government's policy aimed at integrating its citizens into the workforce.

The Ministry's findings paint a stark picture of a two-tiered system. While approximately 1,000 larger companies demonstrate a relatively healthy Omanisation rate of 44 percent, employing 200,000 Omanis alongside 245,000 expatriates, the situation deteriorates sharply across the rest of the sector. Nearly 19,000 establishments show a mere 17 percent Omanisation rate, with 60,000 Omani workers compared to 300,000 foreign employees.

However, the most concerning figures lie within the 245,000 businesses that have not hired a single Omani national. These entities collectively employ over 1.1 million expatriates, resulting in a 0 percent Omanisation rate. The Ministry of Labour has strongly criticized this imbalance, stating that it "undermines the goals of sustainable national employment and limits opportunities for citizens in their own country."

Acknowledging potential difficulties faced by certain sectors and smaller enterprises in attracting local talent, the Ministry emphasized that the prevailing model, where a massive number of businesses operate entirely without Omani employees, is unsustainable.

In a decisive move to address this critical issue, the Ministry of Labour has announced a new regulatory policy. Effective immediately, all private sector establishments that have been commercially active for at least one year are now mandated to employ a minimum of one Omani national. This policy will be supported by a framework of incentives and a flexible implementation strategy that considers the size and specific sector of each business.

This development follows recent news of 631 job vacancies announced across various government agencies for 2025, signaling a broader push towards enhancing employment opportunities for Omani citizens. The effectiveness of this new directive in significantly altering the deeply entrenched hiring practices of the vast number of private firms remains to be seen, but it represents a crucial step towards achieving the Sultanate's Omanisation objectives and fostering a more inclusive national workforce.