RIYADH — The unemployment rate for the total population in Saudi Arabia reached 5.1 percent in the third quarter of 2023, according to the latest figures released by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). This showed a decrease of 0.7 percent from the third quarter of 2022 and an increase of 0.2 percent from the second quarter of this year. The unemployment rate among Saudis reached 8.6 percent in the third quarter of 2023, a decrease of 1.3 percent compared to the same quarter of 2022, and an increase of 0.3 percent compared to the second quarter of this year. The unemployment rate among Saudi men was 9.9 percent, while it reached 5.8 percent for the total male population in the Kingdom in the third quarter of 2022. The rate of participation of Saudi women in the workforce rose 0.6 percent, reaching 35.9 percent while the ratio of female workers to the total population also increased by 0.3 percent, reaching 30.1 percent. The unemployment rate among Saudi women rose by 0.6 percent to reach 16.3 percent, compared to the previous quarter of the same year. As for Saudi men, the participation rate in the employment market and the employment-to-population ratio decreased by 0.7 percent, reaching 66.8 percent and 63.7 percent respectively, and the unemployment rate stabilized at 4.6 percent compared to the previous quarter of the same year. The basic working age — from 25 and 54 years — among Saudi men and women showed an increase of 0.3 percent, reaching a total of 68.2 percent during the third quarter of this year while the employment-to-population ratio stabilized at 62.8 percent. On the other hand, the unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percent to reach 7.9 percent compared to the previous quarter of the same year. For Saudis aged 55 years and above, labor market indicators in the third quarter of 2023 showed a decline in the ratio of workers to the population and the rate of participation in the labor force, with a slight increase in the unemployment rate compared to the previous quarter of the same year.
