'Taking our jobs': Yemeni workers lose out to lower-paid Ethiopian migrants in low-skilled sectors
Yemeni workers say cheaper Ethiopian migrants are replacing them in cleaning and restaurant jobs as unemployment and hardship deepen.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
The story follows Yemeni men in low-skilled work who say employers increasingly prefer Ethiopian migrants willing to accept lower wages. It also places that job competition inside Yemen’s wider role as a transit country for migrants trying to reach Saudi Arabia.
It is like a school where some helpers start taking jobs for less pocket money than others. In Yemen, some locals say Ethiopian migrants are getting hired instead, while the migrants are just trying to earn enough to eat on their way to Saudi Arabia.
Analysis
The article centers on Yemeni workers in Aden who say they are being pushed out of low-skilled jobs by Ethiopian migrants willing to work for less. Zahed al-Zabidi, who has spent more than 15 years washing dishes and cleaning restaurants, says he used to find work easily but now struggles to get hired because restaurant owners prefer cheaper labor.
Al-Zabidi says he once earned 130,000 Yemeni riyals a month, but a replacement accepted 80,000 riyals. He argues that the lower wage may be enough for migrants without families in Yemen, but not for a Yemeni worker trying to support relatives. He is now jobless and says he and his family are surviving on bread and tea.
The story connects this local hardship to broader displacement and migration patterns. Yemen remains a major transit country for migrants from Ethiopia and Somalia heading toward Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. The International Organisation for Migration says 110,144 migrants entered Yemen during 2025, and 97 percent were Ethiopian. More than 90 percent of arrivals reportedly intend to move on to Saudi Arabia, while about 10 percent plan to stay in Yemen.
The article suggests that for many migrants, work in Yemen is temporary and mainly a way to cover immediate needs while they continue the journey north. One migrant, Ramadan, says they work because they need food while they are in Yemen. The piece leaves the reader with a labor market under strain on both sides: Yemeni workers losing access to jobs they depended on, and migrants taking whatever work they can find on the way to the Gulf.
Key points
- Yemeni workers in Aden say Ethiopian migrants are replacing them in restaurant and cleaning jobs because they accept lower pay.
- Zahed al-Zabidi says his monthly wage fell from 130,000 Yemeni riyals to 80,000 riyals after he was replaced.
- The article says Yemen's youth unemployment rate was 32.39 percent in 2024, worsening the pressure on low-skilled workers.
- The IOM says 110,144 migrants entered Yemen in 2025, and 97 percent were Ethiopian.
- Most migrants are described as using Yemen as a transit point on the way to Saudi Arabia rather than a final destination.
If displaced Yemeni workers can shift into other low-skilled work, such as farming, they may still find a way to earn money. The article also shows that some migrants treat Yemen as a temporary stop, which could limit longer-term pressure in some local jobs.
If employers keep choosing the lowest-paid labor, Yemeni workers without savings or training could be pushed further out of the market. That would deepen hardship in a country already facing severe unemployment and widespread humanitarian need.
