The number of foreign workers in Qatar has dramatically increased over the last few years to reach 89 percent of the total workforce, according to experts. Dr Fatima Al Kubaisi, from Qatar University, pointed out that unemployment in Qatar has reached alarming rates like that in other GCC countries. "Non-Qatari workforce has touched the 89 percent of the total workforce," she added. Al Kubaisi was speaking at the regional workshop on employment organised by Qatar's Urban Planning and Development Authority and the Permanent Population Committee in collaboration with the GCC General Secretariat. The event was attended by top decision makers in the GCC member states, experts, the Kuwaiti Arab Planning Institute and Bahrain Centre for Studies and Researches. Participants at the workshop addressed the problem of unemployment that has reached up to 15 percent in some member countries. Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Sulaiti, Senior Adviser at GCC's General Secretariat, said the fast changes in the structure of the labour market in the region is blamed for the huge increase in unemployment rate. "Replacing manual work with technology, growing involvement of women in the economy, migrated workforce and privatisation of many projects are the key changes that the labour market in the region has witnessed," said Al Sulaiti. The development policies followed by the regional governments and the impact of globalization have further deepened the crisis. It is widely believed that diversifying economic activity away from the oil sector, encouraging the private sector to recruit local workforce, producing education outputs that meet the demand of the national labour market and correcting the difference in wages between the employees of the public and private sectors can reduce unemployment rate. Unemployment is considered as a risk factor to public security. The issue of the menace was highlighted by Lieutenant-Colonel Hazza Mubarak Al Hajiri, Director of the Total Quality Department (TQD) at the Ministry of Interior. "Several crimes which were not familiar in the society few years ago are appearing due unemployment," said Al Hajiri.ck of lowering oil prices for tickets issued in Middle East and GCC markets to over 20 cities in Europe, the Far East and the Middle East. The pen

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