The overall unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia has declined in the second quarter of 2024, underscoring the increased improvement in the Saudi labor market.
The Labor Market Statistics Report for Q2 2024, issued by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), also showed a decrease in the rate of unemployment among Saudis, further supporting the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 to empower Saudis and increase their participation in the labor market.
Unemployment Rates
According to the GASTAT report, the Labor Force Survey estimated that the overall unemployment rate for both Saudis and non-Saudis dropped to 3.3% in the second quarter of 2024, marking a 0.2% decrease compared to the previous quarter. This also marked a 0.8% decline compared to the same quarter in 2023.
Moreover, the report showed a decline in unemployment rate for Saudis, recording 7.1% in Q2 2024. This represented a 0.5% decrease compared to the first quarter of 2024, and a 1.4% decline compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Participation Rates
The labor force participation rate of Saudis in Q2 2024 fell by 0.6% compared to Q1 of the same year, reaching 50.8%. However, this marked an annual increase by 0.1% compared to Q2 2023, the report noted.
Meanwhile, the GASTAT report pointed out that the employment-to-population ratio for Saudis decreased by 0.3% compared to Q1 2024, reaching 47.2%. However, it recorded an annual increase of 0.8% compared to Q2 2023.
Saudi Female Participation
The labor market indicators showed a significant decline in the unemployment rates of Saudi females by 1.4% to record 12.8%, compared to Q1 2024. Furthermore, the second quarter of 2024 saw an increase in the employment-to-population ratio for Saudi females by 0.1%, reaching 30.8%.
However, the labor force participation rate of Saudi females declined by 0.4% in Q2 2024 to reach 35.4%.
Meanwhile, the employment-to-population ratio for Saudi males remained steady at 63.6%, while the labor force participation rate declined by 0.1%, reaching 66.3%. At the same time, the unemployment rate for Saudi males fell by 0.2% compared to Q1 2024, recording 4.0%.
Other Indicators
The report noted that 95.5% of unemployed Saudis are willing to assume roles in the private sector. Furthermore, 59.1% of unemployed Saudi females and 43% of unemployed Saudi males are open to commute to work for at least one hour.
Additionally, the GASTAT statistics showed that 81.9% of unemployed Saudi females and 93.8% of unemployed Saudi males said they are ready to work 8 hours or more per day.
Saudi Labor Market
Owing to Saudi Arabia’s tireless efforts to strengthen its labor force, in line with the transformative Vision 2030, the Saudi labor market has shown significant progress in several global indicators over the past few years.
Saudi Arabia outperformed G20 countries in key labor market indicators in the period between 2016 and 2021. This includes the annual growth rate of labor force and the growth in employment and labor force participation rates.
Moreover, the Kingdom achieved remarkable milestones in 2024, according the World Economic Forum (WEF) indicators, including flexible working arrangements, ease of finding skilled employees in the labor market, and equal pay for equal work.
Advancing Vision 2030
As part of its economic diversification plans under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia prioritizes a strong and skilled labor force. To this end, the Kingdom encourages broader workforce participation and creates more opportunities for Saudi citizens through several programs and initiatives.
This includes launching the Unified Employment Platform (Jadarat) in June to help jobseekers find and apply for job opportunities in the public and private sectors. In addition, the Kingdom efforts include the Nitaqat Program (Saudization Program) which aims to boost the participation of Saudi nationals in the private sector by providing more opportunities for Saudis.
