Saudi Arabia’s unemployment charge amongst nationals fell to a file low of 6.3 per cent within the first quarter of 2025, in response to information launched by the Normal Authority for Statistics.
The determine represents the bottom degree for the reason that Kingdom started publishing labour power statistics.
Girls’s participation within the labour market drove the decline. The feminine unemployment charge dropped to 10.5 per cent, falling by 3.6 proportion factors in comparison with the identical interval final 12 months.
IMF praises Saudi labour reforms as unemployment drops to six.3%
The labour power participation charge amongst Saudi ladies elevated by 0.3 proportion factors to 36.3 per cent. The employment-to-population ratio for girls rose by 0.7 proportion factors to 32.5 per cent.
Male unemployment amongst Saudis continued to say no, reaching 4.0 per cent – a year-on-year lower of 0.2 proportion factors.
The broader labour market, which incorporates each Saudi and non-Saudi staff, noticed unemployment fall to 2.8 per cent within the first quarter of 2025, down from 3.5 per cent within the corresponding quarter of 2024.
The nation had set a Imaginative and prescient 2030 goal to cut back nationwide unemployment to 7 per cent by the tip of the last decade.
The Kingdom achieved this purpose forward of schedule by the tip of 2024, prompting the federal government to revise the goal downward to five per cent by 2030.
The Worldwide Financial Fund recognised the Kingdom’s labour market reforms in its assertion following Article IV consultations final week.
The IMF famous that unemployment among the many residents had already reached 7 per cent in 2024, surpassing Imaginative and prescient 2030 targets forward of schedule.
