Saudi Unemployment Rate Holds at 3.5% in Fourth Quarter

RIYADH, March 31, 2026 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) – Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate for the total working-age population stood at 3.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, unchanged from a year earlier and up 0.1 percentage point from the previous quarter, according to the General Authority for Statistics.

Separate data for Saudi nationals showed the unemployment rate among Saudi males and females at 7.2% during the quarter, as labor market indicators pointed to continued shifts in participation and employment levels across different segments of the workforce.

Among Saudi women, the unemployment rate declined to 10.3%, down 1.6 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2024, while the employment rate of Saudi females rose to 31%, marking an increase of 4.2 percentage points over the past five years.

For Saudi men, the labor force participation rate rose to 64.7%, up 0.4 percentage point from the previous quarter.

Overall labor force participation among Saudis reached 49.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 0.5 percentage point from the same period a year earlier. The employment-to-population ratio among Saudis stood at 45.9%, rising 0.6 percentage point from the third quarter.

Across the total working-age population, including citizens and residents, the labor force participation rate climbed to 67.4%, up 0.5 percentage point quarter on quarter and 1 percentage point from a year earlier.

The employment-to-population ratio for the total working-age population reached 65%, increasing 0.4 percentage point from the third quarter and 1 percentage point from the fourth quarter of 2024, according to GASTAT’s Labor Market Statistics Bulletin.