Saudi Arabia sees new jobs in tech, healthcare - less hiring in construction

Dubai: Saudi businesses in the tech and healthcare sectors kept up their hiring levels, while there was a drop in new jobs in the energy sector, according to a new update.

“In the oil and gas and some large scale construction projects, hiring was delayed due to adjustments in government spending,” said Anurag Verma, General Manager for Saudi operations at the consultancy Innovations Group.

On the construction side, there have been frequent reports of ‘re-sizing’ at some of the prestige projects Saudi Arabia had launched, including at some of the ‘giga’ ones. This has obviously led to slowing demand for more engineering and project specific personnel to take on the many ambitious contracts that had been planned.

But some in the industry say that Saudi Arabia will still require heavy recruitments for its still many construction ventures. The question then becomes how long will it take for that demand to show. Meanwhile, the other sectors where Saudi Arabia is currently hiring are in retail and financial, as well as education, according to Innovations’ data.

“Employers have chosen to retain the best talent by giving increments,” said Verma. “Salary costs for new hiring is 6%-8% more for white-collar staff in comparison to last year.”

According to the company, the Saudi manpower market for white-collar workers could reach $1.16 billion by end of this decade. And that for blue-collar worker staffing needs could reach $1.68 billion in the same period.

“The demand is increasingly shifting toward a more skilled workforce, with high-growth opportunities emerging in key sectors such as healthcare, technology, and financial services,” the report finds.

By end of this year, more multinational companies are expected to confirm their regional headquarters operations in the Kingdom. The latest Saudi PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) report also points to demand for more hiring. In this regard, financial and tech sectors could see increased spending in expanding workforces.

"Saudi Arabia is still years away from seeing its tech sector reach full potential," said an HR specialist overseeing tech sector hiring. "And even with many AI related investments being mentioned, the serious hiring in this space is yet to start.

"Realistically, one might have to wait for 2026 before tech hiring picks up."