The unemployment rate among Saudi Arabian citizens dropped to 12.3 percent in Q2 2019 compared to 12.5 percent in Q1, according to data from the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GaStat).
Unemployment in the kingdom (citizens and residents) fell to 5.6 percent in the second quarter, compared to 6 percent in Q1 2019.
The economic reforms implemented within Saudi Vision 2030 have proven efficiency through the continuous drop of the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia.
There has been an increase of 23.2 percent in the economic participation of Saudi women in the second quarter of 2019 compared to 20.5 percent in the previous quarter. The overall economic participation of Saudis reached 45 percent in the second quarter compared to 42.3 percent in the first quarter.
The decline is attributed to Saudi Vision 2030 programs aiming at boosting the involvement of citizens in the private sector and creating jobs in new fields of entertainment, cinema, and sports for women.
The Saudi government leads several government initiatives such as developing a specialized agency to empower women in the government sector through the Ministry of Civil Service, as well as the support provided by Saudi Vision 2030 programs for women such as eliminating social restrictions that limit them from taking part in the labor market.
The estimated total of Saudi job-seekers during the Q2 is one million. Yet, not all of them meet the unemployment standards known by the International Labour Organization.
The GASTA clarified job seekers as Saudi men and women registered in the government in search of a job through the Jadara and Saaed portals of the Ministry of Civil Service and the Taqat portal of Human Resources Development Fund.
The data was collected from the administrative records of the relevant authorities such as the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, Ministry of Civil Service, the General Organization for Social Insurance, the Human Resources Development Fund, and the National Information Center.
