Saudi unemployment rate remains unchanged at 11.3% in third quarter

RIYADH: The jobless rate among Saudis remains unchanged at 11.3 per cent in the third quarter, Arab News quoted official data from Gastat.

While unemployment was unchanged in total, the data showed that both male and female jobless rates among Saudi experienced a slight drop.

Unemployment in men fell 0.2 per cent to 5.9 per cent, while it went down 0.4 per cent for women to stand at 21.9 per cent.

In a sign of limited mobility among Saudi unemployed nationals, Gastat said that 62.1 per cent of unemployed females and 44.9 per cent of unemployed males would only accept a commuting time of an hour or less.

The total unemployment rate for both Saudis and non-Saudis stayed the same at 6.6 per cent over the same period.

Participation rate

Moreover, Saudi female participation rate went up by 1.7 per cent to 34.1 per cent while their male counterparts’ rate slipped by 0.9 per cent to hit 65 per cent. Among Saudis, labor force participation, which includes males and females, edged up by 0.4 per cent to reach 49.8 per cent.

The participation rate is the ratio of the labor force, employed and unemployed, to the working-age population, which is comprised of the 15+ population.

New measure

The employment-to-population ratio is a new indicator presented in Gastat’s unemployment released today.

The authority said that this indicator measures the economy’s performance and its ability to create new jobs. A rising ratio means that job creation is outpacing the growth of the population. It is measured as the ratio of employed people to the working-age population.

Employment-to-population ratio among Saudis experienced an uptick, rising by 0.4 per cent to 44.2 per cent in the third quarter. While males’ ratio dropped by 0.5 per cent to 61.2 per cent, the females’ rate rose 1.5 per cent to 26.7 per cent.

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