Saudi Arabia's unemployment drops to record low of 6.3% in Q1 2025

Dubai: The unemployment rate among Saudi nationals fell to a record low of 6.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, the lowest level since the Kingdom began releasing official labour force statistics, according to new data published by the General Authority for Statistics.

 The historic drop was driven in large part by a sharp increase in women’s workforce labour participation, reflecting the Kingdom’s ongoing economic reforms and efforts to diversify its workforce.

The unemployment rate among Saudi women declined to 10.5 per cent, down 3.6 percentage points compared to the same period last year — the lowest figure on record.

Female labour force participation edged up to 36.3 percent, while the employment-to-population ratio for women climbed to 32.5 percent, indicating deeper and more sustained engagement in the labour market.

The jobless rate among Saudi men also declined modestly, reaching 4.0 percent in the first quarter, a year-on-year decrease of 0.2 percentage points.

Across the broader labour force, including both Saudi and non-Saudi workers — the national unemployment rate fell to 2.8 percent, down from 3.5 per cent a year earlier.

The data comes as Saudi Arabia continues to advance sweeping economic and social reforms under its Vision 2030 programme, which aims to reduce dependence on oil, boost private sector growth, and expand opportunities for citizens, particularly women and youth.

Remarkably, the Kingdom had originally aimed to reduce Saudi unemployment to 7 percent by the end of the decade, a target it surpassed by the close of 2024. In response to this early achievement, the government has revised its target downward to 5 percent by 2030.

The International Monetary Fund, in its recent article 4 concluding statement, praised Saudi Arabia’s labour market reforms, noting that the early achievement of key employment benchmarks reflects strong policy implementation and growing private sector dynamism.

While challenges remain — including aligning skills with market demand and ensuring sustained job creation — the latest data points to a labour market in transition, increasingly inclusive and adaptive to the needs of a modernising economy.