×

Goal Eight: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Roughly half the world’s population still lives on the equivalent of about US$2 a day. And in too many places, having a job doesn’t guarantee the ability to escape from poverty. This slow and uneven progress requires us to rethink and retool our economic and social policies aimed at eradicating poverty. A continued lack of decent work opportunities, insufficient investments and under-consumption lead to an erosion of the basic social contract underlying democratic societies: that all must share in progress.

Overview of some indicators

Unemployment rate
4.3
Number of commercial bank branch (per 100,000 adults)
14.6
Number of fatal occupational injuries
7


Labour Market Reform 
 

The National Employment Program, launched in 2019, comprised of four key initiatives: launching an awareness campaign to encourage citizens to register, hence improving labour market records, increasing unemployment compensation, increasing expatriate fees, and redesigning Tamkeen’s Training and Wage Support Program. A year later, the National Employment Program 2.0 was launched, offering wage support for Bahraini job seekers and new graduates registered with the Ministry of Labour for a period of up to 36 months. Under the Economic Recovery Plan in 2021, the Government launched initiatives to further empower Bahraini youth and facilitate their entry into the private sector. These measures have successfully led to the employment of 29,995 Bahrainis in 2022, surpassing the annual target of 20,000.The Ministry of Labour continues to explore different innovative ways to train Bahrainis and connect them with employers, including electronic job fairs; the launch of a digital portal for job seekers; the provision of professional training and career guidance; and apprenticeship programs. The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) is responsible for regulating expatriate employment with the aim of maintaining an organized labour market that meets the needs of its users, preserves the rights of all its parties, achieves social security, and ensures economic growth. Key protections available to expatriate employees include the establishment of the Wage Protection System, that went into effect in May 2021, which gives the LMRA visibility to monitor the payment of salaries to employees, and the establishment of the ‘Expat Protection Center’, a central hub curated towards providing services to expatriate employees, which includes a legal clinic to provide legal support and assistance in filing cases, passport retrieval services, and a shelter for victims and potential victims of human trafficking.

Tamkeen 
  

Bahrain’s Labour fund, Tamkeen, has a dual mandate of making the private sector the key driver of economic growth and making Bahrainis the employees of choice. On the human development support programs front, Tamkeen prioritizes programs that lead to employment, skills, and career development for Bahrainis. Programs include: the Mid-Career & Executive Leadership program which provides wage subsidies to hire and promote experienced Bahrainis; the Global-Ready Entrepreneur program which covers 70 percent of the cost of participating in reputable overseas structured entrepreneurial programs; and the Train and Grow program, which provides financial support to enterprises to facilitate training and wage increments for their Bahraini employees.




Goal One: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal Two: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal Three: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all age
Goal Four: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Goal Five: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal Six: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal Seven: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal Eight: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Goal Nine: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal Ten: Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal Eleven:  Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal Twelve:Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal Thirteen: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts[b]
Goal Fourteen: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Goal Fifteen: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Goal Sixteen: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Goal Seventeen: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
SDGs Bahrain

Page Last Updated: 25 July, 2023