Saudi Arabia has seen a year-on-year decline in the unemployment rate, which reached 7.5% among Saudis in the third quarter of 2025, down 0.3 percentage points compared with the same period in 2024, said a General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) report.

There is a notable progress in indicators of female participation in economic activity, said the Labor Market Statistics for the third quarter of 2025.

The bulletin showed that unemployment among Saudi women recorded a year-on-year decline, with the rate standing at 12.1%, down 1.5 percentage points compared with the third quarter of 2024, reflecting the effectiveness of programs and initiatives aimed at supporting women’s empowerment and enhancing employment opportunities, said a Saudi Press Agency report.

The results also indicated an increase in the labor force participation rate of Saudi men to 64.3%, up by 0.3 percentage points, while the employment-to-population ratio of Saudi women rose by three percentage points over the past five years to reach 29.7%, underscoring positive shifts in the structure of the Saudi labor market.

The overall labor force participation rate for the total population reached 66.9%, reflecting a quarterly decline of 0.2 percentage points alongside a year-on-year increase of 0.3 percentage points. 

Meanwhile, the employment-to-working-age population ratio reached 64.6%, recording a decrease of 0.4 percentage points compared with the second quarter of 2025, while posting a year-on-year increase of 0.5 percentage points compared with the third quarter of 2024.