S. Arabia’s unemployment rate steady at 3.5% in Q1 ’24

Saudi Arabia’s overall unemployment rate remained stable at 3.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2024. This represents a slight increase from 3.4 per cent in Q4 2023 but a decrease of 0.8 percentage points from Q1 2023.

For Saudis, the unemployment rate fell to 7.6 per cent, down from 7.8 per cent in Q4 2023 and 8.7 per cent in Q1 2023, indicating successful employment initiatives. The labour force participation rate for Saudis rose to 51.4 per cent, a 1.0 percentage point increase from the previous quarter.

Additionally, the employment-to-population ratio for Saudis increased to 47.5 per cent, a 1.0 percentage point rise from Q4 2023 and 0.5 per cent points higher than Q1 2023, reflecting a healthier job market and a positive economic outlook.

Attribution: General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) data.