Via Tim Callen in agsiw.org: At face value, the Saudi labor market report released March 28 contained good news. The report showed that the overall unemployment rate (covering nationals and non-nationals) fell to 4.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 5.1% in the third quarter. The unemployment rate for Saudi nationals dropped to 7.7% from 8.6% in the third quarter (and 8% in the fourth quarter of 2022), with the unemployment rate for Saudi women declining particularly sharply to 13.7% (down from 16.3% in the third quarter of 2023 and 15.4% in the fourth quarter of 2022). The unemployment rate for Saudi men remained unchanged at 4.6% between the third and fourth quarters of 2023, still above the 4.2% rate in the fourth quarter of 2022. The overall unemployment rates for Saudi women and all Saudis are at their lowest levels since the kingdom began collecting statistics.
