Qatar’s crisis: 123K foreign workers left Doha

CAIRO -17 August 2017: Foreign workers in Qatar declined by 6.2 percent in the second quarter of 2017 as 123,86 workers left Doha after its support for terrorism was established, al-Iqtisadi Saudi Arabian news website reported on Thursday.

According to the report of al-Iqtisadi, 57 foreign workers leave Qatar per hour, which is considered the biggest quarterly decline from early 2016 until the end of the first half of 2017. This came following the Arab crisis with Qatar.

The total number of employed persons in Qatar reached 1.88 million in the second quarter of 2017, dropping from 2 million in the first quarter of 2016.

Doha’s government and private sector rely heavily on foreign labor which represents 94.8 percent of Qatar's total workforce, while Qatari workers account for the remaining 5.2 percent.

The number of foreign workers in Qatar declined by about 6 percent during the second quarter of 2017, which means that 123,860 foreigner workers left in the second quarter of 2017. This coincided with the increase in the food and beverage prices index by 4.5 percent in Qatar during July 2017.

Qatar’s relations with several Arab and Gulf states have been strained since May 24, when the Qatari state-run news agency reported Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani’s statements regarding Gulf foreign policy with Iran, describing it as “unwise.”

On June 5, 2017, several countries, including Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, severed diplomatic ties with Doha over accusations of Qatar backing and funding terrorist groups.

On June 23, 2017, the four Arab states have requested 13 demands from Qatar, which were presented by Kuwait, the mediator in the crisis. The demands included that Qatar shut down Al Jazeera TV network, cut diplomatic ties with Iran, stop financing and supporting terror groups, including the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, and end Turkey's military presence in Doha.