Saudi Arabia’s female labor force participation rose to 37 pct in 2022: Minister

Saudi Arabia’s female labor participation reached 37 percent in 2022, the Kingdom’s Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed al-Rajhi confirmed on Monday.

About 2.2 million Saudi men and women are working in the private sector – the highest rate in the country’s history– the minister said during his opening speech at the 12th Social Dialogue Forum in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Statistics’ (GASTAT) latest report confirmed the minister’s statement. GASTAT also revealed that labor force participation among female Saudi citizens between the ages of 15 and 24 rose from 48 percent in Q2 to 50.1 in Q3 of 2022.

The GASTAT data, which was released on December 29, showed that 93.3 percent of unemployed Saudi citizens said they would accept employment in the private sector.

In the past, Saudi citizens have often preferred public sector jobs but the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 reforms – spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – have provided more employment opportunities in a variety of fields.

The Social Dialogue Forum kicked off in Riyadh and was organized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in partnership with the King Abdulaziz National Dialogue Center, with the participation of the International Labour Organization (ILO), as well as representatives from the government, and public and private sector employers and employees.

Al-Rajhi said the forum aims to highlight investment opportunities across the labor market and address the challenges it currently faces.