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The unemployment rate among Saudis dropped to the lowest ever level, based on the data available since 1991.
It fell to 8% in the fourth quarter 2022, from 9.9% in the previous quarter, according to the General Authority for Statistics’ (GASTAT) Labor Force Survey.
The Kingdom targets an unemployment rate of 7% by 2030.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman earlier said that the Kingdom seeks to cut the jobless rate to 4-7% in line with Vision 2030, and will achieve this level before 2030.
The unemployment rate among Saudi males reached a lifetime low. It also retreated to 15.4% among Saudi females, the lowest level ever, based on GASTAT’s data since 1999.
The labor force participation rate among Saudis was steady on a quarterly basis at 52.5% in Q4 2022.
The overall unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia in working age declined to 4.8% in Q4 2022, from 5.8% in Q3 2022, GASTAT added.
The following table illustrates the changes in unemployment in Saudi Arabia:
|
Unemployment Rate in Saudi Arabia |
||
|
Period |
Unemployment rate |
Unemployment rate among Saudis |
|
Q1 2017 |
5.8 % |
12.7 % |
|
Q2 2017 |
6.0 % |
12.8 % |
|
Q3 2017 |
5.8 % |
12.8 % |
|
Q4 2017 |
6.0 % |
12.8 % |
|
Q1 2018 |
6.1 % |
12.9 % |
|
Q2 2018 |
6.0 % |
12.9% |
|
Q3 2018 |
6.0 % |
12.8% |
|
Q4 2018 |
6.0 % |
12.7% |
|
Q1 2019 |
5.7 % |
12.5 % |
|
Q2 2019 |
5.6 % |
12.3 % |
|
Q3 2019 |
5.5 % |
12.0 % |
|
Q4 2019 |
5.7 % |
12.0 % |
|
Q1 2020 |
5.7 % |
11.8 % |
|
Q2 2020 |
9.0 % |
15.4 % |
|
Q3 2020 |
8.5 % |
14.9 % |
|
Q4 2020 |
7.4 % |
12.6 % |
|
Q1 2021 |
6.5 % |
11.7 % |
|
Q2 2021 |
6.6 % |
11.3 % |
|
Q3 2021 |
6.6 % |
11.3 % |
|
Q4 2021 |
6.9 % |
11.0 % |
|
Q1 2022 |
6.0 % |
10.1 % |
|
Q2 2022 |
5.8 % |
9.7 % |
|
Q3 2022 |
5.8 % |
9.9 % |
|
Q4 2022 |
4.8% |
8.0% |
Saudis account for 53.1% and 46.5% of the labor force in the public and private sectors, respectively. On the other hand, non-Saudis employed in the private sector represented 71.6% of total.
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