Riyadh – Mubasher: The overall unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia, including both Saudis and non-Saudi nationals, reached 5.1% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, down by 0.9% on an annual basis yet higher by 0.3% than Q4-22, according to estimates of the General Authority for Statistics' (GaStat) Labor Force Survey.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate of Saudis was 8.5% in Q1-23, up by 0.5% compared to Q4-22.

GaStat’s report showed that “The labour force participation rate of Saudis slightly decreased to 52.4% and the employment-to-population ratio of Saudis decreased by 0.3% to 48%.”

Participation Rate for Saudi Females

The participation rate for Saudi females in Q1-23 rose by 2.4% compared to Q1-22, yet remained unchanged at 36% when compared to Q4-22.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for Saudi females surged to 16.1% in Q1-23, higher by 0.7% from Q4-22. Meanwhile, the employment-to-population ratio edged down by 0.2% to hit 30.2% in Q1-23.

Participation Rate for Saudi Males

As for the Saudi males’ participation, the unemployment rate was 4.6%, up 0.4% from Q4-22.

Furthermore, the labour force participation rate of Saudi males went down by 0.2% to 68.3% in Q1-23 while the employment-to-population ratio declined by 0.5% to 65.2%.

It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia’s headline seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined to 58.5 in May 2023 as a result of downward movements in new orders and output.

The employment growth in Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, was relatively strong in the month of May this year, with the rate of job creation picking up to the joint-fastest since the beginning of 2018.

Naif Al Ghaith, Chief Economist at the listed Riyad Bank, commented back then by saying: “Higher employment and activity levels have driven wages to rise at the second-fastest pace in seven years, leading to a sustained markup in prices charged to consumers.”