Unemployment rate for Saudis decreases to 8.3% in Q2/2023: GASTAT

Based on the estimates of the General Authority for Statistics’ Labor Force Survey, the overall unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia (for Saudis and non-Saudis) reached 4.9% in Q2/2023, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points (pp) from Q1/2023, and a decrease of 0.9 percentage points from a year ago.

The unemployment rate for Saudis recorded 8.3% in Q2/2023, a decrease of 0.2 pp compared to Q1/2023. The Saudi employment-to-population ratio decreased by 0.6 pp to reach 47.4% compared to the previous quarter.

The Saudi labor force participation rate also decreased by 0.7 pp to reach 51.7%. As for the annual changes in the main labor market indicators for Saudis, the unemployment rate decreased by 1.4 pp, accompanied by an increase of 0.6 pp in the employment-to-population ratio and a slight decrease of 0.1 pp in the labor force participation

Unemployment rate decreases for Saudi females

Among Saudi females, in Q2/2023 unemployment rate decreased to 15.7%, down 0.4 pp from last quarter. The employment-topopulation ratio decreased by 0.4 pp reaching 29.8%. Participation rate also decreases by 0.7 pp compared to last quarter and reaches 35.3%.

Among Saudi males, in Q2/2023 the unemployment rate remains unchanged at the level of 4.6%. The Labor force participation rate and the employment-to-population ratio of Saudi males, both decrease by 0.8 pp to 67.5% and 64.4%, respectively

Unemployment rate declines for Saudi core working age population

In Q2/2023, among Saudi female youth (15-24 years), both labor force participation and employment to population ratio declined. The participation rate decreased by 0.3 pp to 18.5% and the employment-to-population ratio fell by 0.5 pp to 13.8%.

The unemployment rate increased by 1.3 pp to 25.5% Among Saudi male youth, the unemployment rate increased, accompanied by a decrease in labor market participation and employment to population ratio.

The participation rate fell by 0.1 pp to 37.6%, the employment-to-population ratio fell to 32.7% and the unemployment rate rose by 0.6 pp to 13.2%. Among Saudi core working age population (aged 25-54), Q2/2023 saw a decrease in the unemployment rate by 0.3 pp to 7.5%. The employment-to-population ratio fell 0.7 pp to 62.8%, Same for the labor force participation rate for Saudis decreased by 0.9 pp, reaching 67.9%. The decrease in the unemployment rate for the Saudi core working age population (aged 25-54), was mainly driven by both decrease in the unemployment rate for females by 0.7 pp to 15.0% and for male by 0.1 pp to 3.4% in Q2 2023. For Saudis aged 55 years and over, Labor market indicators showed a decrease in participation rate and employment-to-population ratio in Q2 of 2023, compared to the previous quarter.

Active job search methods used by unemployed Saudis

Saudi job seekers used a variety of active job search methods, with an average of 4.8 active methods per job seeker. In Q2/2023, the most frequently used active job search methods were: asking friends or relatives (used by 85.6% of job seekers), applying directly to employers (70.9%), and using the National employment platform (Jadarat) used by 61.3% of job seekers

Limited mobility of unemployed Saudis

95.3% of unemployed Saudis would accept employment in the private sector. Results of the survey showed that 58.9% of unemployed Saudi females and 44.9% of unemployed Saudi males would accept a maximum commuting time to work of one hour. Similarly, 75.0% of unemployed Saudi females and 90.0% of unemployed Saudi males indicated that they would accept work for eight hours or more per day.