The Saudi labor market is approaching a different stage in the process of reducing unemployment, after the rate among citizens has become at levels lower than the target set by “Vision 2030”, while the challenge is gradually moving from increasing jobs to expanding the base of participation, improving the quality of opportunities, and absorbing more Saudis in an economy whose structure is changing rapidly.
Data from the General Authority for Statistics for the second quarter of 2026 showed a decline in the unemployment rate among Saudis to 6.5 percent on an annual basis, compared to the stability of the overall population unemployment at 3 percent, at a time when indicators of youth and women’s participation and connection to the private sector continued to shape the features of the new phase of the labor market.
According to the data, the unemployment rate among Saudis increased slightly, by 0.1 percentage point, compared to the first quarter of the year, but recorded a decrease of 0.3 percentage points on an annual basis. The overall unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point compared to the previous quarter and 0.2 percentage point compared to the second quarter of 2025.
The performance of the labor market varied between the genders, as the unemployment rate among Saudi males decreased to 4.8 percent, from 4.9 percent in the first quarter, while it rose among Saudi women to 9.6 percent, from 9 percent. The participation rate of Saudi males in the labor force was 63.9 percent, compared to 33.7 percent for Saudi women.
The data showed a noticeable improvement in youth unemployment indicators, as the unemployment rate for the age group between 15 and 24 years decreased to 15.2 percent, from 16 percent in the previous quarter.
The unemployment rate among young Saudi women decreased by 0.9 percentage points to 19.5 percent, while among young males it decreased by 0.8 percentage points to 13 percent. In the main working age group between 25 and 54 years, the unemployment rate reached 5.5 percent, while it stabilized at 1.2 percent among those aged 55 years and over.
These indicators reflect the importance of the transformations taking place in the Saudi labor market, especially with the increased participation of citizens in economic activity and the expansion of job opportunities in new sectors, in parallel with nationalization programs and the reshaping of the relationship between job seekers and the private sector.
The authority’s data showed that 96.7 percent of unemployed Saudis were willing to accept job opportunities in the private sector, while job seekers used, on average, three methods to search for a job.
Direct application to employers was topped by search methods, followed by the use of the unified national employment platform “Jadarat”, in addition to taking advantage of professional platforms to publish and update CVs.
The data also showed the willingness of the largest percentage of unemployed people to work eight hours or more per day, and to accept commuting to the workplace for a distance that takes up to an hour, which provides indications of the readiness of job seekers to adapt to the requirements of available jobs.
The continued decline in Saudi unemployment comes in the context of the goals of “Vision 2030” aimed at increasing citizens’ participation in the labor market and enhancing the private sector’s contribution to job creation.
“Vision 2030” had set a reduction in the unemployment rate among Saudis to 7 percent by 2030 as part of its economic targets, after the rate was 11.6 percent in 2016, which makes the level of 6.5 percent recorded in the second quarter lower than the target set for the end of the decade.
This is accompanied by the expansion of nationalisation, training, qualification and employment support programmes, in addition to reforms aimed at increasing the attractiveness of the private sector and improving the alignment between citizens’ skills and the needs of the economy.
In July, following the conclusion of Article IV consultations with Saudi Arabia, the International Monetary Fund praised the gains achieved by the Kingdom in the labor market within “Vision 2030,” including increasing women’s participation in the workforce, in addition to enhancing the role of the private sector and supporting the non-oil economy.
The challenge in the next phase is not limited to reducing unemployment, but rather extends to raising the quality and sustainability of jobs and increasing the participation of Saudis in value-added sectors, in line with the economic transformation led by “Vision 2030.”
As the unemployment rate approaches historically low levels, the focus is gradually shifting from achieving a quantitative reduction in unemployment to deepening citizens’ participation in the labor market, raising their productivity, and ensuring the economy’s ability to absorb new entrants to the labor market in the coming years.
