Saudi private sector employment reaches 11.27m in April: official data

According to the Saudi National Labor Observatory report, there was a net increase in citizen employment for April, with 18,535 individuals newly joining the private sector workforce. Shutterstock
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Updated 12 May 2024
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Saudi private sector employment reaches 11.27m in April: official data

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s private sector has created more job opportunities, with the total number of employees reaching 11.27 million workers in April, official data showed. 

According to the Saudi National Labor Observatory report, there was a net increase in citizen employment for April, with 18,535 individuals newly joining the private sector workforce. 

Among these figures, there are over 2.35 million Saudi nationals, comprising more than 970,200 female workers and over 1.38 million male employees. 

On the other hand, NLO data showed that the total number of residents employed in the private sector exceeded 8.91 million individuals, comprising over 8.55 million male workers and only 364,900 female employees.

The report provides an overview of the Saudi private sector, highlighting a dynamic workforce of over 9.9 million male workers and more than 1.3 million female workers, representing diverse nationalities and playing integral roles in sector operations. 

In February, the total number of employees in the Saudi private sector reached 11.1 million, marking a 0.9 percent increase from the previous month, according to an NLO release. 

The national observatory report revealed that out of the total, 2.3 million were Saudi nationals, while 8.8 million were residents of the Kingdom belonging to different nationalities. 

That data reflected a positive trend in the employment industry as the private sector continues to expand its workforce, creating opportunities for Saudi citizens. 

Moreover, an analysis of the Saudi national workforce revealed that while 961,690 employees were females, 1.4 million were males. 

Meanwhile, among the 8.8 million non-Saudi workers, 348,892 were women, while 8.4 million were men. 

In February alone, the net growth in jobs for Saudi nationals as well as residents stood at 26,694, indicating a steady increase in employment within the private sector. 

Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification efforts have transformed the Kingdom into a hub for employment opportunities, propelled by bold giga-projects such as NEOM, which attract fresh talent into the construction sector.  

NLO, a governmental organization, is tasked with monitoring and analyzing labor market trends and dynamics in the country. It serves as a crucial resource for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders interested in understanding and addressing issues related to employment, workforce development, and labor market regulations. 


Italy’s Saipem wins $3.1bn offshore contract for Qatar’s North Field project 

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Italy’s Saipem wins $3.1bn offshore contract for Qatar’s North Field project 

RIYADH: Italy’s Saipem has secured an offshore engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract worth about $3.1 billion for its share of a major gas project in Qatar. 

The contract, awarded by QatarEnergy LNG, covers the COMP5 package of the North Field Production Sustainability Offshore Compression Complexes project. The total value of the award is approximately $4 billion, Saipem said in a statement. 

The award forms part of QatarEnergy LNG’s strategy to maintain and increase production capacity at the North Field, the world’s largest non-associated natural gas field, located off the northeastern coast of Qatar. 

The project scope includes the “engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of two compression complexes, each including a compression platform, a living quarter platform, a flare platform supporting the gas combustion system, and the related interconnecting bridges.” 

Each complex will have a total weight of about 68,000 tonnes. 

The contract has a total duration of approximately 5 years. Saipem said offshore installation operations will be carried out by its De He construction vessel in 2029 and 2030. 

The new contract follows the EPCI COMP2 and COMP3 packages, which were awarded to Saipem in October 2022 and September 2024, respectively, and are currently under execution. 

“The award of the COMP5 package consolidates Saipem’s collaboration with QatarEnergy LNG and reinforces the company’s presence in Qatar as a partner for the execution of complex large-scale projects,” the company said. 

QatarEnergy CEO Saad Al-Kaabi said last month that the broader North Field expansion project remains on track to produce its first liquefied natural gas in the second half of 2026, Reuters reported. 

The wider North Field project involves the construction of six gas trains to cool natural gas into liquefied natural gas for export by ship.  

Saipem, which is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, operates as a “One Company” organized into several business lines, including asset-based services, drilling, energy carriers, offshore wind, and sustainable infrastructures. 

The company owns five fabrication yards, along with a fleet of 17 construction vessels and 12 drilling rigs.