JEDDAH: About 15,750 government employees working in different sectors retired from service this year, Abdul Aziz Al-Khonain, spokesman for the Civil Service Ministry, said yesterday.

Some of these employees requested early retirement, sometimes due to ill health, he said.

He said the number of retirees from July 2008 to July 2009 reached 15,764, and included 10,661 men and 5,103 women.

Al-Khonain said teachers topped the list with 8,020, followed by general government employees with 3,175. The retirees also included 812 Saudi Arabian Airlines employees.

As many as 393 employees in the health sector, including 138 women, have retired this year, the spokesman said. Three hundred and seven university teaching staff, seven judges and six members from the Commission for Investigation and Public Prosecution have also retired.

The retirement of a large number of government employees in one year is good news for young Saudi graduates who are looking for jobs.

Deputy Labor Minister Abdul Wahid Al-Humaid said the unemployment rate among Saudi women increased by two percent from 24.9 percent in February 2008 to 26.9 percent in August 2008.

“As a result of this increase the overall unemployment rate in the Kingdom rose from 9.8 to 10 percent in August 2008,” he said. The unemployment rate among Saudi men, however, declined from 6.9 to 6.8 percent during the same period.