Unemployment among Saudis dceline to lowest since 2016
The latest official government data issued yesterday in Saudi Arabia revealed a decline in unemployment in the Saudi workforce, to its lowest since 2016. The bulletin of the General Authority for Statistics on the labor market for the second quarter of this year confirmed the continued recovery of the economy and improvement in the labor market in the Kingdom, which was affected like other countries of the world due to the impact of the Corona pandemic.
According to the estimates of the labor force survey conducted by the “Statistics Authority” on a quarterly basis, the results of the bulletin revealed that the unemployment rate of the total Saudi and non-Saudi population (15 years and over) reached about 6.6 percent during the second quarter of 2021, compared to 9 percent during the second quarter of last year.
The results of the labor force survey estimates revealed a decrease in the unemployment rate for total Saudis (males and females aged 15 years and over) for the second quarter of this year to reach 11.3 percent, compared to 11.7 percent for the previous quarter.
The results of the survey showed a decrease in the unemployment rate for Saudi males (15 years and over) for the second quarter to 6.1 percent, compared to 7.2 percent in the first quarter of the year, while the unemployment rate for Saudi females for the same period was 22.3 percent.
The results of the survey indicated that the labor force participation rate for the total population (Saudis and non-Saudis) for the second quarter was 60.8 percent, compared to 61.1 percent in the first quarter, while the labor force participation rate for the total male population was 79.2 percent.
It also indicated that the labor force participation rate for total Saudis (males and females) for the second quarter of the year amounted to 49.4 percent, while the bulletin showed an increase in the labor force participation rate for female Saudis to 32.4 percent, compared to 32.3 percent.
According to the statistics, the labor force participation rate for Saudi males (15 years and over) decreased for the second quarter of this year to 65.7 percent, compared to 66.2 percent in the previous quarter.
