A recently-released report on the Saudi labor market, using figures from Q4 2020, showed a sizable drop in unemployment among Saudis from the previous quarter, according to Jadwa Investment, citing official government data.
The General Authority for Statistics’ (GaStat) latest labor market release shows that unemployment in Saudi Arabia declined 2.3%, to 12.6% in Q4 2020, down from 14.9% in Q3 2020.
The improvement was mostly affected by a drop in female unemployment, which declined 5.8%, to 24.4% from 30.2% in Q3.
Labor force participation rose in Q4 2020 to 51.2%, up from 49% in Q3 2020, with higher participation by both genders.
GaStat data showed that the number of expatriates in the labor market declined by 121 thousand quarter-on-quarter in Q4, on a net basis.
“The recovery in the labor market has proceeded quicker than we anticipated (with Saudi unemployment at 12.6 percent at the end of 2020, versus our forecast of 14 percent),” Jadwa writes. “At the same time, however, the swift recovery reinforces our view that Saudi unemployment will decline to 12.1 percent by the end of 2021.”
An improvement in economic activity in Q4 together with a consistent fall in the number of daily COVID-19 cases likely encouraged more citizens to join the labor market and seek employment.
“More specifically, with the ongoing roll-out of vaccines in the Kingdom, business sentiment is expected to improve significantly during H2 2020, which, along with ongoing localization efforts, will help create more employment opportunities for citizens,” according to the Jadwa report.
[Click here to read the full report from Jadwa Investment] [Arabic]
