Saudi unemployment falls to 6.4% in Q1 2026

Dubai: Saudi Arabia's unemployment rate among its citizens fell to 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, with unemployment among Saudi women declining to 9 per cent, according to new Labour Force Survey data released by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).

The figures represent a further improvement from the previous quarter, with unemployment among Saudi nationals falling by 0.8 percentage points.

Women recorded the largest quarterly gain, as their unemployment rate dropped by 1.3 percentage points, while unemployment among Saudi men eased to 4.9 per cent, down 0.7 percentage points.

The Kingdom's overall unemployment rate, which includes both Saudi and non-Saudi workers, also continued to decline, reaching 3.1 per cent, compared with 3.5 per cent in the final quarter of 2025. Overall labour force participation stood at 67.2 per cent.

Among Saudi nationals, labour force participation was 49 per cent, while the employment-to-population ratio reached 45.8 per cent. For Saudi men, participation rose to 64.2 per cent, with 61 per cent of the working-age population employed.

The survey showed further progress among younger Saudis. Unemployment among Saudi women aged 15 to 24 fell to 20.4 per cent, while the rate for Saudi men in the same age group declined to 13.8 per cent.

For Saudis aged 25 to 54, the unemployment rate stood at 5.1 per cent, accompanied by a labour force participation rate of 66.7 per cent and an employment-to-population ratio of 63.3 per cent.

The report also offered insights into job-search behaviour. Nearly three-quarters (74.6 per cent) of unemployed Saudis said they approached employers directly when looking for work. More than half (55.2 per cent) used the national employment platform Jadarat, while 48.5 per cent relied on professional networking platforms.

GASTAT said 95.8 per cent of unemployed Saudi nationals expressed willingness to work in the private sector. 

The survey also found that 60.4 per cent of unemployed Saudi women and 45.3 per cent of unemployed Saudi men were willing to commute for up to one hour, while 68.2 per cent of women and 82.8 per cent of men said they would accept working eight hours or more per day.