Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate reached 5.7 per cent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2019, achieving a decrease of 0.4 percentage points, compared to Q4 of 2018, a media report said.

On the other hand, the rate of participation in the labour force for total population (15+) was 58.8 per cent, recording an increase of 2.9 percentage points, compared to Q4 of 2018, reported Saudi Press Agency (SPA), citing the 'Labour Market Statistics for Q4 of 2019' released by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT

Regarding Saudi Arabia's labour force indicators for Q4 of 2019 compared to the previous quarter of the same year, the unemployment rate decreased from 12.9 per cent in Q2 of 2018 to 12.0 per cent in Q3 of 2019, and settled at this level in Q4 of 2019, according to the

The unemployment rate of Saudi males reached 4.9 per cent, a decrease of -0.8 percentage points, compared to Q3 of 2019, whereas the unemployment rate among Saudi females remained unchanged at 30.8 per cent.

Results indicated that 64.1 per cent of unemployed Saudis were aged between 20 and 29. About half of the unemployed Saudis with a percentage of 56.4 per cent hold a bachelor's degree. About 27.7 per cent of the unemployed Saudis hold a diploma. However, 84.5 per cent of Saudi males and 97.9 per cent of unemployed Saudi females have never worked before, the SPA report said.