Saudi Arabia’s Unemployment Rate Falls to 3.1% in First Quarter as Labour Market Remains Stable

Saudi Arabia’s overall unemployment rate declined to 3.1 percent in the first quarter of 2026, down from 3.5 percent in the previous quarter, reflecting continued stability in the Kingdom’s labour market, according to newly released official data.

The figures, published by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), showed the unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points compared with the final quarter of 2025. On an annual basis, however, the rate was 0.3 percentage points higher than the 2.8 percent recorded during the same period last year.

The report also showed that the overall labour force participation rate stood at 67.2 percent during the first quarter, a slight decline of 0.2 percentage points from the previous three months and one percentage point lower than a year earlier. Meanwhile, the employment-to-working-age population ratio edged up to 65.1 percent from 65 percent in the previous quarter.

Among Saudi nationals, the unemployment rate dropped to 6.4 percent, compared with 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025. The latest figure represents a quarterly improvement of 0.8 percentage points, although it remains marginally higher than the 6.3 percent recorded a year earlier.

Saudi Arabia has already achieved its Vision 2030 target of reducing unemployment among Saudi citizens to 7 percent ahead of schedule. The government continues to pursue labour market reforms aimed at increasing employment opportunities and expanding workforce participation, particularly among women.

According to GASTAT, the unemployment rate for Saudi women fell to 9 percent during the first quarter, down 1.3 percentage points from the previous quarter. Female labour force participation declined slightly to 33.9 percent, while the employment-to-population ratio eased to 30.8 percent.

For Saudi men, the unemployment rate declined to 4.9 percent from the previous quarter. Male labour force participation stood at 64.2 percent, while the employment-to-population ratio slipped marginally to 61 percent.

The employment-to-population ratio among all Saudi nationals reached 45.8 percent, while the labour force participation rate stood at 49 percent. Both indicators recorded modest declines compared with the previous quarter.

The report also provided insight into how unemployed Saudis search for work. On average, job seekers used three active methods to find employment. Direct applications to employers remained the most common approach, used by 74.6 percent of respondents.

The Jadarat Unified National Employment Platform ranked second, with 55.2 percent of job seekers using the government-backed portal. Nearly half of respondents, or 48.5 percent, said they updated or posted their resumes on professional social media platforms as part of their job search.

GASTAT also found that 95.8 percent of unemployed Saudi nationals said they would be willing to accept employment opportunities in the private sector, highlighting continued interest in private-sector jobs as the Kingdom advances its economic diversification and workforce development initiatives.