33,500 families to be covered in economic, social statistics

Fatima Muhammad JEDDAH — The General Authority for Statistics (GaStat) on Monday called on all Saudis and expatriates to cooperate with the agents collecting different information from the public over the coming month. ‎‏The authority noted that all information will be confidential and will be the base of the various development decisions that the government is expected to take. ‎‏Abdullah Albatel, vice chairman of the authority, noted that there will be some 400 field researchers who will start collecting information. Different teams will work on four research projects that focus on economy and society. The researches target 33,500 families and 8,000 corporations in all the 13 regions of the Kingdom. ‎‏The statistics aim at reaching findings about the work force, evaluating unemployment rate, knowing the average wages and average working hours in various jobs and activities. ‎‏The authority is also seeking information about the private sector, government sector and non-profit sector to evaluate the economic index, industrial production, knowing the growth rate and the average monthly wages. Albatel stressed that all information provided by Saudis, expatriates and establishments will be kept confidential. The official urged the general public and various sectors to cooperate with researchers for the mission to succeed and to benefit from the findings in enhancing the social and economic development.