Unemployment among Saudi Arabia’s citizens fell in the second quarter of 2021 to its lowest level in a decade, signalling progress for the Crown Prince in creating enough jobs for a youthful population.
The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) said the unemployment rate of total Saudis – males and females 15 years and above – decreased to 11.3 percent compared to 11.7 percent during the first quarter of 2021.
The unemployment rate of Saudi males decreased to 6.1 percent from 7.2 percent in the same period while the unemployment rate of females reached 22.3 percent.
The results of the labour force survey also showed that the participation rate of the total working age population – Saudis and non-Saudis 15 years and above – reached 60.8 percent during the second quarter of 2021, down from 61.1 percent in Q1.
In Q1, the jobless rate fell to 11.7 percent, a five-year low, down from 12.6 percent in the last three months of 2020.
Job creation is a major consideration for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (pictured below) as he reshapes an economy dependent on exporting oil and importing foreign labour.
The global coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the scale of the problem, pushing citizen unemployment up to 15.4 percent during the kingdom’s lockdown last year.
Officials have restricted a slew of professions to Saudis only and increased fees for businesses that hire foreign workers – part of a broader effort to replace employees from Asia, Africa and other parts of the Arab world with citizens.
Prince Mohammed is also revamping regulations to try to boost entrepreneurship and attract more foreign investment, hoping both will eventually create more jobs for Saudis.
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority launched a new initiative aimed at encouraging Saudi nationals to take jobs in the kingdom’s booming tourism industry.
Chairman Turki bin Abdulmohsen Al Al-Sheikh launched the Makers of Happiness initiative which seeks to qualify and train young Saudi talents to fill specialised jobs in the sector.
The initiative will support more than 100,000 young Saudis to work in the entertainment sector in the Kingdom including crowd management, the management of entertainment centres and organising and marketing events.
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