Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – The unemployment rate among Saudi women witnessed a historic decline, plummeting to 13.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, as per the latest figures released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). This marks a notable 2.6 percent drop from the third quarter’s 16.3 percent. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate among Saudi men remained steady at 4.6 percent during the same period.
The overall unemployment rate, encompassing Saudis and non-Saudis, saw a noteworthy decrease to 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter, down by 0.7 percent from the previous quarter’s 5.1 percent. Specifically for Saudis, the unemployment rate dipped to 7.7 percent in Q4, showing a decline from 8.6 percent in the preceding quarter.
While the labor force participation rate for the total population experienced a slight decline to 60.4 percent in Q4, a 0.5 percent decrease compared to Q3, the rate for total Saudis also saw a marginal change, dropping to 51.3 percent from 51.6 percent.
These improvements are attributed to the concerted efforts of the human resources and social development system. Their initiatives have been instrumental in driving down the unemployment rate among Saudi nationals and the overall population.
Notably, during 2023, around 1.9 million Saudi men and women benefited from programs facilitated by the Human Resources Development Fund (HADAF), with expenditures exceeding SR8.7 billion. Initiatives such as Saudization programs have led to a record number of Saudi male and female employees in the private sector, reaching 2,325,814 by the end of the year.
