RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s overall unemployment rate stood at 3.2 percent in the second quarter of 2025, down 0.1 percentage point year on year, underscoring ongoing labor-market resilience.
According to the General Authority for Statistics, the yearly decline came even with a slight 0.4 point rise compared with the preceding quarter.
The data also showed the total labor force participation rate reached 67.1 percent, up 0.9 points year on year, indicating that more people are engaged in work or actively seeking jobs.
The year-on-year improvement in headline unemployment, alongside higher overall participation, aligns with the Kingdom’s broader diversification push under Vision 2030, which seeks to expand private-sector opportunities and sustain non-oil growth.
A central pillar of this strategy has been Saudization policies, designed to increase the share of nationals in the workforce, especially in sectors traditionally dominated by expatriates. These efforts have been reinforced by record gains in female participation, which has nearly doubled over the past decade and remains a critical driver of labor-market expansion.
