Saudi jobseekers shift into Uber gear for extra cash
Ride-hailing app employs 200,000 Saudi drivers in 20 cities in kingdom
Burdened by a bank loan, Ebrahim Ahmad searched for a second job for years before opting for something once seen as menial in oil-rich Saudi Arabia — driving for a ridehailing app.
Like tens of thousands of Saudis looking to make extra money, 31-year-old Ahmad turned to the global giant Uber. For the father of three, a salary of 8,000 riyals ($2,133) as an employee at a private company in Riyadh was not enough to support his family and cover a monthly housing loan of 4,000 riyals.
“I finish my job at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, and this is what made it difficult to find a second job,” Ahmad said. “My income after paying the monthly loan would be so limited, and we went through four years of this drought.”
In 2017, Ahmad sold his car to put a down payment on a new vehicle and enrolled with Uber. The company’s spokesman says it is available in 20 cities in the kingdom and employs more than 200,000 Saudi drivers.
“I work for seven hours a day, five days a week, and make an average of 6,000 riyals per month from Uber,” said Ahmad, adding the second job had helped ease his financial burden.
Cultural attitudes to work are slowly changing in a country where 40 per cent of Saudis are aged between 20 and 40, with many young Saudis working in food trucks and gas stations.
Uber, which launched in the kingdom in 2014, acquired Dubai-based Careem in 2019 for $3.1 billion. Both Uber and Careem have hired women since the kingdom lifted its ban on female motorists in 2018.
“I have paid off a third of [my wedding and car] loans thanks to Uber,” said Khaled, a 27-year-old newly-wed Saudi man. “I work 10 hours a day in addition to my other job to quickly settle my two loans.”
Unemployment in Saudi Arabia for the third quarter of 2019 stood at 12 per cent.
I work for seven hours a day, five days a week, and make an average of 6,000 riyals per month from Uber.”
Ebrahim Ahmad | Saudi father of three