Saudi unemployment falls to 6.4% as women's jobless rate drops to 9%

RIYADH — Saudi unemployment fell to 6.4 percent in Q1 of 2026, while unemployment among Saudi women declined to 9 percent, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).Based on estimates from GASTAT's Labor Force Survey, the Saudi unemployment rate decreased by 0.8 percentage points compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, while the unemployment rate among Saudi women recorded the largest quarterly improvement, falling 1.3 percentage points.

Figure from GASTAT's report showing the drops in unemployment rate among Saudis aged 25-54.

Among Saudi men, unemployment fell 0.7 percentage points to 4.9 percent, while the labor force participation rate reached 64.2 percent, and the employment-to-population ratio stood at 61.0 percent.Overall unemployment across the Kingdom, including Saudis and non-Saudis, declined to 3.1 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the overall labor force participation rate stood at 67.2 percent.The Saudi labor force participation rate reached 49 percent, down 0.5 percentage points from the previous quarter, while the employment-to-population ratio stood at 45.8 percent, a slight quarterly decline of 0.1 percentage point.