RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s overall unemployment rate stood at 3.2 percent in the second quarter of 2025, down 0.1 percentage point year on year, underscoring ongoing labor-market resilience.
According to the General Authority for Statistics, the yearly decline came even with a slight 0.4 point rise compared with the preceding quarter.
The data also showed the total labor force participation rate reached 67.1 percent, up 0.9 points year on year, indicating that more people are engaged in work or actively seeking jobs.
The year-on-year improvement in headline unemployment, alongside higher overall participation, aligns with the Kingdom’s broader diversification push under Vision 2030, which seeks to expand private-sector opportunities and sustain non-oil growth.
A central pillar of this strategy has been Saudization policies, designed to increase the share of nationals in the workforce, especially in sectors traditionally dominated by expatriates. These efforts have been reinforced by record gains in female participation, which has nearly doubled over the past decade and remains a critical driver of labor-market expansion.
Among Saudi nationals, the unemployment rate registered 6.8 percent, improving by 0.3 points year on year. The employment-to-population ratio for Saudis came in at 45.9 percent, while Saudi participation stood at 49.2 percent, both lower on a yearly basis, reflecting a temporary easing in engagement after strong gains in recent periods.
In its latest release, GASTAT stated: “The results showed that 95.8 percent of unemployed Saudis are willing to accept job offers in the private sector.”
By gender, Saudi women saw an unemployment rate of 11.3 percent in the second quarter, up 0.8 percentage points compared to the preceding quarter. Female participation eased 1.8 points to 34.5 percent, and the female employment-to-population ratio slipped 1.9 points to 30.6 percent, moves consistent with the broader quarterly cool-down.
The report added: “Additionally, 61.1 percent of unemployed Saudi females and 45.1 percent of unemployed Saudi males are willing to commute to work for at least one hour.”
For Saudi men, participation declined 2.4 points to 64 percent, and their unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3 percent during the same period.
While quarter-on-quarter easing in participation and a slight rise in unemployment reflect normal variability during a heavy project delivery cycle, the annual trend remains favorable.
Youth indicators offered a mixed but generally stabilizing picture quarter to quarter. The unemployment rate for Saudi female youth, aged 15 to 24, edged down 0.1 points to 20.6 percent, with participation at 17.4 percent and an employment-to-population ratio of 13.8 percent.
Saudi male youth unemployment also dipped 0.1 points to 11.5 percent, with participation at 31.6 percent and employment-to-population at 28 percent.
Among core working-age Saudis aged 25 to 54, participation was 67.3 percent and unemployment 5.9 percent in the second quarter, reflecting a quarter-on-quarter softening from elevated first quarter levels.
The survey also shed light on job-search behavior. Unemployed Saudis used an average of 3.6 active methods, led by direct applications to employers at 72.4 percent, use of the national platform Jadarat at 56.3 percent, and tapping friends or relatives at 50.5 percent, a snapshot of how jobseekers are engaging with both formal and informal channels.
Furthermore, the findings noted that 68.1 percent of unemployed Saudi females and 85.7 percent of unemployed Saudi males indicated that they are willing to work for eight hours or more per day.
Globally, the average unemployment rate across the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries is just 4.9 percent as of mid-2025, according to the OECD’s latest data, underscoring how Saudi is performing below many advanced economies.
Saudi Arabia’s 3.2 percent positions it well below many advanced economies.
Within the Gulf Cooperation Council region, unemployment rates and labor dynamics vary significantly. Saudi Arabia’s joblessness remains higher than some Gulf peers with small national populations and high migrant ratios, such as the UAE or Kuwait, whose official unemployment rates are often reported in the low single digits.
