Bahrain’s financial services industry added more than 2,200 new jobs in 2007, raising total employment in the sector to a record 11,960 last year, according to a Central Bank of Bahrain annual survey on employment in the financial sector.

The number of people employed in the sector rose by 22.6 per cent over 2006, continuing a recent trend of double-digit growth in the financial sector workforce, which has more than doubled since 2000 when the CBB began conducting the survey.

The latest survey found that of the 2,208 new jobs created, 1,230 (or 55.7 per cent) went to Bahrainis, raising the number of Bahrainis employed in the financial sector to 8,248 last year, from 7,019 in 2006.

“Bahrain’s growth in financial sector employment in 2007 was the strongest in recent years, reflecting the unprecedented economic growth taking place in the region,” said Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, director, financial stability, at the CBB.

Bahrain’s financial services industry has been a major beneficiary of the strong economic activity in the country and in the region. The financial sector has added 3,742 jobs in the past two years alone and 6,729 since 2000.

The banking industry, the bedrock of Bahrain’s financial sector, remained the largest employer within the financial services industry, adding 1,470 new jobs during 2007.