RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s overall unemployment rate fell to a record low of 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2025, down 0.7 percentage points from the previous quarter, official data showed.
According to figures released by the General Authority for Statistics, the jobless rate also declined by 0.7 points year on year. The labor force participation rate for both Saudis and non-Saudis increased to 68.2 percent, marking a rise of 1.8 points from the previous quarter and 2.2 points from the same period last year.
The Kingdom’s strengthening labor market aligns with Vision 2030, the nation’s strategic roadmap focused on creating job opportunities for citizens and driving economic growth. Curbing joblessness remains a core pillar of the broader socio-economic reform agenda.
In its latest release, GASTAT stated: “The employment-to-population ratio for Saudis increased by 0.5 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, reaching 48.0 percent, and increased by 0.5 percentage points compared to the first quarter of 2024.”
Among Saudi nationals, the jobless rate fell to 6.3 percent in the first quarter — a 0.7-point drop from the earlier quarter and 1.3 points lower year on year. Participation in the workforce among Saudis edged up to 51.3 percent, a quarterly improvement of 0.2 points.
To support job seekers and streamline employment efforts, the Kingdom continues to promote digital platforms such as Jadarat, a unified national system for connecting Saudis to job opportunities.
The share of Saudi women engaged in the labor force rose to 36.3 percent in the first quarter, up 0.3 percentage points from the preceding quarter.
“Additionally, the employment to population ratio of Saudi females increased by 0.7 percentage points, reaching 32.5 percent. At the same time, the unemployment rate of Saudi females decreased by 1.4 percentage points, recording 10.5 percent, compared to the previous quarter of 2024,” GASTAT added.
Among Saudi men, participation in economic activity increased slightly to 66.4 percent, while their unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage points to 4.0 percent.
GASTAT’s report also revealed that 94.8 percent of unemployed Saudis are open to working in the private sector. Of these, 76.1 percent of women and 86.3 percent of men expressed willingness to work at least eight hours a day.
Additionally, 58.7 percent of Saudi women seeking employment and 40.4 percent of their male counterparts expressed willingness to commute for one hour or more to reach their workplace.
Alongside the survey findings, GASTAT also published register-based labor market statistics for the same timeframe.
The number of Saudis registered with the General Organization for Social Insurance and the Civil Service rose to 2.92 million in the first quarter of 2025, up from 2.89 million in the previous quarter. Of these, 2.42 million were employed in the private sector and 492,620 in the public sector.
Meanwhile, the total number of registered workers in the Kingdom — including Saudis and non-Saudis — increased to 12.8 million, compared to 12.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.
