The Kingdom’s labor market grew 2.6% q-o-q in 3Q 2024 to a record 12 mn participants, with women accounting for 13% of the total, according to CI Capital’s Saudi Labor Market report (pdf). Saudi nationals’ participation rate rose 0.7 percentage points q-o-q to 51.5%, with women accounting for 36.2%, up 0.8 percentage points.

We’re ahead of schedule: Having surpassed its Vision 2030 target of 30% female workforce participation in 2Q 2020, the Kingdom set a new target of 40% by 2030. Additionally, a new unemployment target of 5% for nationals by 2030 was set, as the 7% goal is expected to be reached this year.

REMEMBER- The overall unemployment rate for locals and expats declined 0.5 percentage points y-o-y to 3.7% in 3Q 2024, according to Gastat’s labor market report. Local unemployment fell 1 percentage point y-o-y to 7.8%, while expat unemployment was down 0.1 percentage points, reaching 1.4%. Female unemployment fell 3 percentage points y-o-y to 13.6% during the quarter, while unemployment for men remained unchanged from last year at 4.7%.

The private sector localization push: In 3Q 2024, the private sector saw a 1.8% q-o-q increase in Saudi workers to reach 2.36 mn out of 11.4 mn total private sector employees. This growth is expected to accelerate due to the Human Resources and Social Development Ministry’s localization efforts in 269 professions. The education sector has been a key driver, contributing to 40% of new Saudi women hires and 27% of all new Saudi hires in 3Q 2024, following the implementation of the 50% Saudization requirement for private schools.

Expat participation is on the up: Saudi Arabia’s population grew 4.7% y-o-y to 35.3 mn in 2024, with expats — who make up 44% of the population — contributing to 76% of this increase. The number of Saudis rose 2% y-o-y to 19.6 mn. In the labor market, the number of expat participants increased by 24k q-o-q to a record 9.2 mn (76% of total participants), mainly due to the construction sector, which brought in 28% of new hires. Although expat wages remain 0.4x that of Saudis, the wage gap has been narrowing in recent years.

How much are people making? Real wages averaged SAR 5.9k (down 12.2% y-o-y), with Saudi nationals earning SAR 9.9k (up 2.6%), Saudi women earning SAR 7.8k (down 5.1%), and non-Saudis earning SAR 4.1k (down 6.6%).

Spotlight on Riyadh: Riyadh’s labor market participation rose 0.3% q-o-q to 5.68 mn in 3Q 2024. Saudi citizens comprised 23% of the capital city’s labor market, reaching 1.3 mn. The unemployment rate in Riyadh saw a marginal drop of 0.1 percentage points q-o-q to 5% — the lowest rate in the Kingdom.

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