Prime Highlights
- Saudi citizens employed in the private sector reached 52.8 percent, exceeding the 2025 target of 51.4 percent.
- Female employment and mothers in the workforce have grown sharply, reaching 32 percent and 45 percent, respectively, by 2025.
Key Facts
- Youth employment (ages 18–24) increased from 10 percent in 2015 to 33 percent in 2025, while those not in education, employment, or training fell from 40 percent to 25 percent.
- Micro-enterprises now account for 26 percent of total employment, up from 6 percent a decade ago, highlighting their growing role in job creation.
Background:
Saudi Arabia has reached an important milestone in its labor market, with 52.8 percent of citizens now employed in the private sector, surpassing the 2025 target of 51.4 percent, according to the report “A Decade of Progress.”
The report, prepared with the Global Labor Market Conference, the World Bank Group, and the Kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, reviews the changes in the country’s job market over the past ten years.
Saudi Arabia is now just 5.5 percentage points away from its Vision 2030 goal of 58.3 percent private sector employment. Women’s participation has grown a lot, with female employment rising from 11 percent in 2015 to 32 percent in 2025. Mothers working has also increased, from 8 percent to 45 percent in the same period.
Youth employment has seen significant improvement as well. The share of young people aged 18–24 who are employed increased from 10 percent to 33 percent, while those not in education, work, or training fell from 40 percent to 25 percent. Education and jobs are now better connected, improving from 41 percent to 62 percent over the past ten years.
The report also shows that micro-enterprises have become more important, making up 26 percent of all jobs, up from 6 percent. Labor mobility has improved, unemployment has dropped to 2.8 percent, and more previously inactive people have joined the workforce.
Social attitudes toward work are changing. The number of people unwilling to work fell from 49 percent to 12 percent, and fewer people are seeking only public sector jobs. Wider acceptance of women working in mixed-gender workplaces has also helped increase female participation in the private sector.
Cristobal Ridao-Cano, practice manager for social protection and labor at the World Bank, said that Saudi Arabia’s approach can offer useful lessons for other countries looking to boost private sector employment.
The report highlights the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to diversify its economy and develop its workforce, creating new opportunities for businesses and investors in the years ahead.
