The Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported that the unemployment rate for Saudi women (aged 15 and over) was recorded at the end of the first quarter of 2022 at about 20.2% compared to 22.5% at the end of the previous quarter (fourth quarter of 2022) . 2021).
In a report based on official data tracked by its reporting arm, Al-Eqtisadiah stated that “the unemployment rate for Saudi women in the first quarter of 2022 is the lowest since 2001 at 17.3%.”
On the other hand, the report states that “on the other hand, the economic participation rate of Saudi women in the Saudi Arabian workforce decreased by the end of the first quarter of 2022 to 33.6% compared to 35.6% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021” , as “the rate of economic activity of Saudi women at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 was the highest in history.”
According to Al-Eqtisadiah, “Saudi women’s economic participation thus exceeds the target set in the 2020 National Transformation Agenda, while the economic participation rate set as the program’s baseline was 17% recorded in 2017. .
Al-Ektisadiya pointed out that “the unemployment rate among Saudis at the end of the first quarter of this year decreased to 10.1% compared to 11% in the fourth quarter of last year”, noting that “this is the lowest unemployment rate for Saudi Arabia since 2008 is 10% (i.e. the lowest in 13 years) and also below its pre-Corona level of 11.8% in the first quarter of 2020.
And the AlEqtisadiah report states that “after the coronavirus pandemic, the unemployment rate reached 15.4% at the end of the second quarter of 2020, 14.9% at the end of the third quarter and 12.6% at the end of the fourth quarter. 2020, but with the economy recovering, it quickly returned to decline, reaching 11.7% in the first quarter of 2021, then 11.3% in the second and third quarters of the same year, and “the second quarter of 2020 was the worst season.” affected by the Corona virus, which according to available data is the highest historical figure, while the third quarter lags behind it.
Labor force participation rates for Saudis decreased by the end of the first quarter of 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of 2021 to 50.1% from 51.5%, with the rate for men at 66% and for women reaching 33.6 %. , while the rate for non-Saudis was 74.8%, compared to 75.4%, and it reached 91.4% for men and 32.9% for women, according to Al-Eqtisadiah.
The report states that “the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia (Saudi and non-Saudi) decreased to 6% and reached 2.2% for non-Saudi, compared to 2.9%.”
It should be noted that “the source of data is the General Social Insurance Organization, the Ministry of Manpower and Social Development and the National Information Center”, and the data does not include workers in the security and military sectors and workers who are not registered in the registries of the General Social Insurance Organization and the Ministry of Manpower and social development (Public Service Agency).
It is noteworthy that the data of the General Social Insurance Organization and the data of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (Agency for Civil Service Affairs) are preliminary, and the Saudi Arabian labor market statistics are released according to the field survey, as well as labor market data from the reality of administrative records in relevant authorities, With regard to the unemployment rate, it is the ratio of the unemployed to the labor force of the working-age population (15 years and over), and the labor force participation rate is the ratio of the labor force (employed and unemployed) to the population (15 years and over).
The unemployed are persons (aged 15 years and over) who were unemployed during the seven days preceding the family survey and who, during the four weeks preceding the survey, were seriously looking for a job (i.e. used at least one method of finding a job). ), and this includes those who were not looking for a job because they were waiting for an already agreed job to start, or because they wanted to establish their own business, which also includes those who are able-bodied and ready to join it within seven days prior to the interview, or within the next two weeks, according to the Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper.
Source: The Economist.