Saudi Unemployment Rate Drops to 6.4% in Early 2026

Jun 30, 2026

69 min

Jun 30, 2026 17:31

Saudi unemployment falls to 6.4% in Q1 2026

## Overview of Unemployment Trends

Saudi Arabia's unemployment rate among citizens decreased to 6.4% in the first quarter of 2026, according to the General Authority for Statistics. This marks a 0.8 percentage point drop from the previous quarter.

## Gender-Specific Improvements

Unemployment among Saudi women saw a significant decline, falling to 9%, a reduction of 1.3 percentage points. Meanwhile, the rate for Saudi men decreased to 4.9%, down by 0.7 percentage points.

## Overall Labour Market Performance

The Kingdom's total unemployment rate, which includes both Saudi and non-Saudi workers, also fell to 3.1%, improving from 3.5% at the end of 2025. The overall labour force participation rate was 67.2%, with Saudi nationals participating at 49%.

## Youth Employment

Among young Saudis aged 15 to 24, unemployment rates decreased, with women at 20.4% and men at 13.8%. For those aged 25 to 54, the unemployment rate was 5.1%.

## Job Search Behavior

The survey highlighted that 74.6% of unemployed Saudis approached employers directly. Additionally, 55.2% used the national employment platform Jadarat, and 48.5% utilized professional networking sites.

## Willingness to Work

A significant majority of unemployed Saudi nationals, 95.8%, expressed readiness to work in the private sector. Furthermore, 60.4% of unemployed women and 45.3% of men were open to commuting for up to an hour, while a large portion were willing to work eight hours or more daily.

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