Manama: Bahrain’s non-oil growth stood at 3.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2015 bringing the overall growth of Bahrain to 3 per cent, according to Bahrain Economic Quarterly (BEQ), published by the Economic Development Board (EDB). The report stated that personal and social services were the main contributors to the growth. The hotel and restaurant sector grew around 8 per cent, and personal and social services such as private schools and hospitals grew 6.3 per cent. Transportation and communication services saw a growth of 6 per cent during the quarter.
The overall growth of Bahrain’s economy has brought in more jobs with the country’s unemployment rate falling to 3.1 per cent as opposed to 3.9 per cent in 2014. Job creation in the private sector is 7 per cent year over year. In the banking sector, bank credit continued to grow by 7 per cent as of the end of the third quarter.
Recently, Bahrain has seen developments in financial services, ICT and manufacturing sectors. Commenting on the findings of the BEQ report, Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the EDB, said: “The resilience that the economy has demonstrated has helped to reassure investors, highlighting the progress that Bahrain and the wider region have made in diversification and the long term economic strengths that have underpinned growth in recent years.”
