The unemployment rate among Saudis has reached a historic low of 7.1% in the second quarter of this year, close to the Saudi Vision 2030 target of 7%. This decline highlights the success of government initiatives aimed at making the job market more appealing to local job seekers.
According to data from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) on Monday, the unemployment rate dropped by 0.5 percentage points from 7.6% in the first quarter of this year and fell by about 1.4 percentage points compared to the same quarter in 2023.
Efforts by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development to support women have resulted in a significant drop in the unemployment rate among Saudi women.
Moreover, in the second quarter of this year, the Human Resources Development Fund allocated over SAR 1.65 billion to boost employment and encourage Saudis to join the local workforce.
GASTAT said Saudi Arabia’s overall unemployment rate, including citizens and non-citizens, fell to 3.3% in the second quarter of 2024, down from 3.5% in the first quarter.
The decline improves the Kingdom’s ranking to fifth among G20 countries with the lowest unemployment rates, as noted by the International Labor Organization in April.
There are now over 2.3 million Saudi workers in the private sector, contributing to a total of more than 11.4 million private sector workers in the Kingdom, the highest number recorded.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan, which aims to diversify the economy and reduce its reliance on oil, has included several reforms to stimulate job creation.
