Bahrain’s Minister of Labour Jamil Humaidan on Thursday (May 29th) announced the launch of a project to employ 10,000 Bahrainis by June 11th, al-Watan daily reported.

The project is part of a national initiative to provide jobs for Bahraini citizens, he said, and targets 12,000 university graduates and others.

A budget of 35 million Bahraini dinars ($92.8 million) has been allocated to the project, Humaidan said.

The ministry also will help small business owners by offering them loans in order to reduce the national unemployment rate, he added.