RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s overall unemployment rate fell to 3.1 percent in the first quarter of 2026 from 3.5 percent in the previous three months, as the Kingdom’s labor market remained resilient, official data showed.
Figures released by the General Authority for Statistics showed that while there was a quarter-on-quarter decline of 0.4 percentage points, the level was 0.3 percentage points higher than the same period a year earlier.
The overall labor force participation rate eased to 67.2 percent in the first quarter, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous three months and 1 percentage point lower than a year earlier. Meanwhile, the overall employment-to-working-age population ratio edged up to 65.1 percent from 65 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Saudi Arabia has already achieved its Vision 2030 target of reducing the Saudi unemployment rate to 7 percent ahead of schedule and continues to focus on increasing women’s participation in the workforce, a key pillar of its labor market reforms.
“The unemployment rate among Saudis stood at 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2026, decreasing by 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, while increasing by 0.1 percentage point year-on-year compared to the first quarter of 2025,” said GASTAT.
