Unemployment in Bahrain is down to 3.8 per cent, according to the statistics for last month.

The figures were unveiled as Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday (August 3).

Recipients under the national unemployment insurance scheme dropped to 2,931 last month, from 4,034 in June, according to a report by Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi.

Figures show that 4,020 of those registered have been employed since the scheme came into effect last December.

Another 2,569 have been removed from the benefit list, after their six-month eligibility period expired.

Meanwhile, Bahrain reiterated its commitment to protecting expatriate workers.

Employers must honour the workers’ rights as stipulated in their employment contracts, the Premier said.

He urged employers to comply with laws governing the local labour market, as well as international covenants to which Bahrain is a signatory.

’Employers are required, for example, to provide their expatriate workers with valid and accurate documents,’ said Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatala Al Khalifa, the cabinet affairs minister. - TradeArabia News Service