RIYADH — Madinah recorded the highest unemployment rate among Saudis in the administrative regions across the Kingdom at 12.2 percent while Riyadh recorded the lowest with 6.7 percent. This was contained in the statistical data released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). Madinah was followed by Jazan in unemployment rate among Saudis at 11 percent while Makkah and the Eastern Province recorded 7 percent and 6.9 percent respectively. The authority stated that the unemployment rate among Saudis recorded a significant decrease, reaching 8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to 9.9 percent in the previous quarter. There has also been a decrease in the unemployment rate for the total population in the Kingdom, reaching 4.8 percent during the period compared to the third quarter of 2022. According to the GASTAT data, the unemployment rate among young Saudis aged between 15 and 24 years reached 16.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022. The statistics showed that the unemployment rate among Saudi citizens in the primary working age group of between 25 and 54 years was 7 percent during the same period. The GASTAT report also revealed the unemployment rate among Saudis according to their educational level. Those who had a bachelor's degree or its equivalent had the highest unemployment rate of 9.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, followed by diploma holders with 8.1 percent while the unemployment rate among high school graduates stood at 7.4 percent. Unemployment among those with a doctorate degree was the lowest at 0.2 percent. Regarding unemployment among Saudis according to educational specializations, the highest rate was in natural sciences, mathematics and statistics which stood at 12.8 percent, followed by arts and humanities at 11.6 percent, and then communications and information technology at 10 percent.
