Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council on Monday demanded that the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development coordinates with specialized parties to reinforce efforts for resolving the repercussions the coronavirus pandemic had on employment in the Kingdom.
Saudi authorities had launched several initiatives like the government covering 60% of salaries in private sector industries hit by the pandemic.
The move came as part of a 9 billion riyal ($2.4bn) economic package, and allows companies forced to consider staff lay-offs to apply for government aid of up to 9,000 Saudi riyals for the next three months.
In other news, the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) released its Labor Market Publication for Q3 of 2021.
The publication’s results showed that the unemployment rate of the total population (Saudis and Non-Saudis +15) remained stable at (6.6%) in Q3, 2021. However, the unemployment rate of the male population reached (3.3%), while the female population recorded (17.1%) according to the estimates of the Labor Force Survey for Q3, 2021.
As for the unemployment rate of Saudis (Males and females +15) in Q3 of 2021, the results revealed that it remained stable at (11.3%) compared to the previous quarter. The results also showed that the unemployment rate of Saudi males (+15) in Q3, 2021 fell to (5.9%) compared to (6.1%) in the previous quarter. Furthermore, the unemployment rate of Saudi females (+15) decreased to (21.9%) in Q3, 2021 compared to the previous quarter (22.3%).
The results of the Labor Market Publication for Q3 of 2021 also revealed that the labor force participation rate of total population (Saudis and Non-Saudis +15) in Q3 of 2021 increased to (61.2%) compared to (60.8%) in the previous quarter. However, the labor force participation rate of male population (+15) reached (78.3%), whereas the female population (+15) recorded (35.9%). Moreover, the results indicated that the labor force participation rate of total Saudis (Males and females +15) increased to (49.8%) in Q3 of 2021 compared to (49.4%) in the previous quarter.
On the other hand, the labor force participation rate of Saudi females (+15) in Q3 of 2021 went up from (32.4%) in Q2, 2021 to (34.1%) in Q3, 2021.
