Qatar is a developed country and brings over migrant workers along with the nationals to do their jobs in the skilled labor force. In Qatar, the national estimate for the labor force participation rate among individuals aged 15 and above stands at 88% of the total population (WB, 2023). Qatar’s workforce, with over 2 million migrant workers (95% of skilled labor), shows 60.5% female and 96.8% male participation, including around 1 million in construction and 100,000 in domestic roles (HRW, 2023). Increased hiring of skilled professionals, construction laborers and introducing a minimum wage of 1000 Qatari Riyals ($275) has driven Qatar’s infrastructure development, fostering a more diverse labor market. (Lari, 2022). Qatar is reliant on a migrant work force and it is in their best interest to make sure the workers are happy.
Qatar has transformed their restrictive labor practices to more fair practices. Historically, Qatar utilized the “Kafala system” for migrant labor, linking workers’ legal status and residency to employers, giving employers substantial control over visas, work permits, and employees’ job changes or departure without employer consent (Alkhayareen, 2023). But now the Qatari government taking reforms to empower migrant workers by enabling job changes without employer consent, easing exit permit requirements, and establishing mechanisms to address labor disputes (Conn, 2019). In addition, various entities, such as the International Labour Organization (ILO), Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, alongside local groups like the Qatar National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and Migrant-Rights.org, actively engage in advocating for labor rights in Qatar, aiming to improve working conditions and address the concerns of migrant workers (Deumic, 2021). This shift toward labor reforms allows for more participation in Qatar’s labor force.
Figure 16: Qatar’s Labor Force Participation Rate among individuals aged 15 and above