Saudi Arabia saw progress in employment for its nationals in the latest labor market figures for Q1 2020, with the General Authority for Statistics’ noting that unemployment among Saudi nationals declined to 11.8 percent in Q1 2020, down from 12 percent in Q4 2019, according to Jadwa Investment.
The data also showed overall female unemployment with a “significant decline” in Q1, down to 28.2 percent versus 30.8 percent in Q4 2019. In contrast, youth (20-24 years old) unemployment rose during the quarter, Jadwa Investment notes.
Jadwa also noted that while Saudi unemployment declined, “another notable trend was a 243 thousand quarter-on-quarter rise in number of expats in the labor market during Q1 2020, the first such rise in three years.”
Construction saw the largest number of expat hires, according to Jadwa.
Wholesale and retail, health and social work were the sectors that saw the highest number of new jobs for Saudis in the private sector. Meanwhile, construction saw the largest number of expat hires, according to Jadwa.
“It is important to highlight that the GaStat Q1 2020 survey was conducted very early in Q1 2020, in January to be precise, and thus does not reflect any of the economic damage related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local economy from March onwards,” Jadwa said.
“Bearing this mind, when looking ahead, we expect to see some movement in the Saudi unemployment rate during Q2, but this should reverse in the final quarter of the year, as economic activity picks up, bringing unemployment broadly in-line with Q1 2020 levels. Also, despite the rise in expat workers during Q1, we still expect a total of 1.2 million expat departures by year end.”
[Click here to read the full report from Jadwa Investment] [Arabic]
