PARIS, France - Unemployment in Saudi Arabia among citizens fell to 8% in the forth quarter of 2022, decreasing from 9.9% the previous quarter while the labour force participation rate among Saudis was steady at 52.5%, data released on Thursday showed.
The country's overall employment rate, including non - citizens, fell to 4.8% in Q4 from 5.8% the previous quarter, the General Authority for Statistics said in a statement.
''The decrease in the unemployment rate was driven by employment growth'', the statement said.
The overall unemployment rate includes foreign residents of the kingdom, who comprised just over a third of the total population in 2021, the majority of whom need an employment contract to live there.
Job creation, especially for Saudis nations, over 60% of whom are under the age of 35, is a key part of the ambitious economic agenda known as Vision 2030.
Joblessness among Saudis fall 3 percentage ponts from 11% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Workforce participation among female citizens - who have seen social freedoms significantly expanded under the crown prince - is also on the rise. Unemployment among Saudi women dropped to 15.4% in Q4 from 20.5% in Q3, though their labour force participation rate fell 1 percentage point to 36%.
Expansion of the non - oil private sector is a key pillar of Vision 2030, with a wide - ranging programme of privatisations and other government - supported initiatives to spur growth.
The latest data showed that 94.1% of unemployed Saudis would accept jobs in the private sector, slightly higher than in Q4. Historically, the public sector has been the principal employer of Saudi citizens.
