Saudi unemployment at 10 pct in 2010

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia's labor minister says unemployment topped 10 percent last year, underscoring the challenges of job creation for a growing work force in the oil-rich kingdom.

Adel Fakeeh said late Tuesday at a conference that the government was intent on creating five million new jobs by 2030, at least three million of which should be higher paying posts in the private sector.

The country, which sits atop roughly 20 percent of the world's proven reserves of conventional crude, has struggled to deal with a growing youth population. It worries that unemployment will help push some of the disenfranchised citizens to extremist movements.