S&P: Saudi Women’s Workforce Boosts Growth Prospects

Female workforce participation rate in Saudi Arabia reached approximately 36% in 2022. (SPA)
Female workforce participation rate in Saudi Arabia reached approximately 36% in 2022. (SPA)
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S&P: Saudi Women’s Workforce Boosts Growth Prospects

Female workforce participation rate in Saudi Arabia reached approximately 36% in 2022. (SPA)
Female workforce participation rate in Saudi Arabia reached approximately 36% in 2022. (SPA)

The increasing participation of women in Saudi Arabia’s workforce is expected to boost the country’s economy by $39 billion, or 3.5%, by 2032, if the current rate of growth continues, according to S&P Global Ratings.

The agency noted in a report that labor market reforms had led to a rise in female workforce participation in the Kingdom to approximately 36 % in 2022, compared to 19 % in 2016.

“We calculate that increases in overall participation rate of just 1 percentage point per year (ppt) over the next 10 years would boost the country’s annual real GDP [gross domestic product] growth by an average of 0.3 ppt, to 2.4% per annum (versus 2.1%), assuming that labor force productivity growth for the next 10 years will look the same as the last 20 years,” S&P research analysts said in the report.

The increase in female representation in the labor force was spurred by expanding childcare and transport services, which added to new job opportunities in developing sectors such as tourism, leading to more women joining the labor market.

The agency also attributed the increase in women’s workforce participation to a higher level of education, in addition to several measures taken by the Saudi government.

Other measures introduced by Saudi Arabia to reduce the impediments to women joining the labor force include allowing them to drive, increasing remote and hybrid work arrangements, dropping the need for a male guardian to consent to a woman starting a business, and increasing the number of female jobs in the military, S&P said.

The report added that the key to economic growth in the Kingdom over the next decade lies in improving workforce productivity.

In order to replicate the success seen in East Asia, the Kingdom must work on enhancing workforce productivity through increased capital investment and human capital, said S&P.

The agency also noted that if policy reforms under Vision 2030 are successful, sustainable growth rates of 4-5% could be achieved, compared to the historical productivity-based growth rates of 2-3%.



Gold Firms; Focus on US Data for Cues on Fed's Policy Path

FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo
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Gold Firms; Focus on US Data for Cues on Fed's Policy Path

FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo

Gold prices hovered near a four-week peak on Thursday, while focus shifted to jobs report due on Friday for clarity on the Federal Reserve's 2025 interest rate path.
Spot gold edged 0.1% higher to $2,664.30 per ounce, as of 0732 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.4% to $2,681.80
"Prices are trading in a narrow range ... A new trigger is needed for gold to breach its resistance," said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities in Mumbai.
The bullion hit a near four-week high in the previous session after a weaker-than-expected US private employment report hinted that the Fed may be less cautious about easing rates this year.
The market now awaits US jobs report on Friday for more cues on the Fed's policy path.
Investors are also awaiting Donald Trump to take office on Jan. 20 and his proposed tariffs and protectionist policies are expected to fuel inflation.
Policymakers at the Fed's last meeting also "noted that recent higher-than-expected readings on inflation, and the effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy, suggested that the process could take longer than previously anticipated," the minutes showed on Wednesday.
Bullion is considered an inflationary hedge, but high rates reduce the non-yielding asset's allure.
"We believe the bulk of the rally has been put in and that while gold's upward momentum may carry it higher in the near term and in early 2025, a combination of physical and financial market factors may tame the rally and drive gold moderately lower by the end of next year," HSBC said in a note.
Elsewhere, physically-backed gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) registered their first inflow in four years, the World Gold Council said.
Spot silver added 0.2% to $30.17 per ounce, platinum dropped 0.3% to $952.54 and palladium shed 0.8% to $921.37.