Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — The overall unemployment rate for Saudis and non-Saudis in the Kingdom reached 3.2 percent during the second quarter of 2025, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).
The Labor Market Publication, released on Tuesday by GASTAT for the second quarter of 2025, revealed that the overall unemployment rate recorded an increase of 0.4 percentage points on a quarterly basis compared to the first quarter of the same year. This records a slight annual decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared to the second quarter of 2024.
The GASTAT report showed that overall labor force participation rate
for Saudis and non-Saudis reached 67.1 percent, a decrease of 1.1 percentage points from the previous quarter, but an increase of 0.9 percentage points compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
The unemployment rate for Saudis increased on a quarterly basis compared to the first quarter, while most indicators of labor force participation among the Saudi population decreased. Unemployment rate among Saudi citizens reached 6.8 percent, an increase of 0.5 percentage points. The labor force participation rate for Saudi citizens stood at 49.2 percent, a decrease of 2.1 percentage points. Employment rate of Saudi citizens reached 45.9 percent, a decrease of 2.1 percentage points.
The results also showed that changes in the labor market were more pronounced among Saudi women and men. The unemployment rate for Saudi women increased by 0.8 percentage points to 11.3 percent, while their labor force participation rate decreased by 1.8 percentage points to 34.5 percent. For Saudi men, the unemployment rate increased to 4.3 percent, while their labor force participation rate decreased by 2.4 percentage points to 64 percent.
Among young Saudi females aged 15–24, the employment-to-population ratio was 13.8 percent
, and the labor force participation rate was 17.4 percent
. For young Saudi males, the employment-to-population ratio reached 28 percent
, with a labor force participation rate of 31.6 percent
.For Saudis of prime working age 25–54, the employment-to-population ratio reached 63.3 percent, the labor force participation rate stood at 67.3 percent, and the unemployment rate was 5.9 percent. Regarding job search methods, the GASTAT publication showed that applying directly to employers was the most common method at 72.4 percent, followed by the national unified employment platform (Jadarat) at 56.3 percent, while asking friends or relatives about job opportunities accounted for 50.5 percent.
