The Labour Market Regulatory Authority reported a ten percent decline in total LMRA permit issuance last year. Official statistical data revealed that authorities issued 159,759 new permits across employment, investor, and dependent categories. Furthermore, employment work permits accounted for the largest share with over 129,000 approvals processed for foreign workers. Consequently, new permit distribution reflected changing labor market dynamics across major commercial sectors throughout Bahrain.
Despite the reduction in new approvals, total foreign employment increased by nearly two percent nationwide. Construction companies claimed over twenty percent of new employment permits to lead overall sectoral demand. Additionally, retail businesses and food service providers secured major portions of the remaining workforce allocations. Small enterprises hiring under ten workers received over fifty-seven percent of all new work permits.
Meanwhile, regulatory officials processed more than 577,000 permit renewals representing an eleven percent annual increase. Termination requests also reached significant numbers with over 116,000 work, investor, and dependent permits ending. Furthermore, government enforcement teams conducted thousands of targeted inspection visits to catch unregistered workers. Therefore, comprehensive regulatory efforts ensure strict compliance with national labor laws while supporting legal employment.
Authority inspectors executed over fifty-four thousand site inspections and hundreds of joint enforcement campaigns last year. These targeted field operations resulted in detaining hundreds of irregular workers and deporting thousands of violators. Furthermore, monthly data showed peak inspection activity during October while peak deportations occurred during June. Ultimately, shifting trends in LMRA permit issuance highlight a strong focus on regulatory compliance and market oversight.
