Job creation for Saudi nationals, over 60% of whom are under the age of 30, is a key part of the ambitious economic agenda known as Vision 2030, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify away from oil.

Foreign nationals comprise just over 40% of the kingdom’s total population, the majority of whom need an employment contract to live there.

At the same time, the kingdom has ambitious goals for inspiring the youth and women into the workforce. 

Tapping into such aims, the overall unemployment figures for Q4 2023 declined 4.4%, from 5.1% in Q3 and 4.8% in the same period the prior year, as per the General Authority for Statistics data.

This indicates the strength of Saudi’s economy, with the data further revealing that unemployment among Saudi citizens decreased to 7.7% during Q4 2023, down from 8.6% in Q3.

Meanwhile, women’s unemployment in the workforce decreased by 2.6% to 13.7% compared to Q3 2023. The report also notes that Saudi’s main working-age population, between 25-54 years of age, saw an increase in the employment-to-population ratio by 0.4% in Q4 2023, reaching 63.2%.

The sectors that employed the most labor in 2023 included construction, wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, administration and service, hospitality, and F&B.

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