Labour: unemployment, employment and wages by region
The unemployment rate as the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) publishes it from the Labour Force Survey each quarter, for Saudi Arabia and 13 administrative regions, by nationality (Saudi and non-Saudi) and sex. Latest quarter published: Q1 2026 (Rajab – Shawwal 1447 AH) · pulled from the statistical database on 30 September 2026 (19 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH).
Saudi Arabia since Q1 2021
Unemployment rate (% of the labour force) each quarter, newest first; the chart(Arabic) shows the same values.
Quarterly values (21 quarters)
| Quarter | Saudis % | Saudi women % | Saudi men % | Non-Saudis % | Everyone % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | 6.4 | 9.0 | 4.9 | 1.5 | 3.1 |
| Q4 2025 | 7.2 | 10.3 | 5.6 | 1.7 | 3.5 |
| Q3 2025 | 7.5 | 12.1 | 5.0 | 1.4 | 3.4 |
| Q2 2025 | 6.8 | 11.3 | 4.3 | 1.4 | 3.2 |
| Q1 2025 | 6.3 | 10.5 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 2.8 |
| Q4 2024 | 7.0 | 11.9 | 4.3 | 1.5 | 3.5 |
| Q3 2024 | 7.8 | 13.6 | 4.7 | 1.4 | 3.7 |
| Q2 2024 | 7.1 | 12.8 | 4.0 | 1.1 | 3.3 |
| Q1 2024 | 7.6 | 14.2 | 4.2 | 1.1 | 3.5 |
| Q4 2023 | 7.8 | 13.9 | 4.6 | 0.9 | 3.4 |
| Q3 2023 | 8.8 | 16.6 | 4.7 | 1.5 | 4.2 |
| Q2 2023 | 8.5 | 15.9 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 4.1 |
| Q1 2023 | 8.7 | 16.3 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 4.3 |
| Q4 2022 | 8.2 | 15.7 | 4.3 | 1.5 | 4.1 |
| Q3 2022 | 10.2 | 20.7 | 4.4 | 1.7 | 4.9 |
| Q2 2022 | 10.0 | 19.5 | 4.9 | 1.9 | 5.1 |
| Q1 2022 | 10.3 | 20.3 | 5.2 | 2.3 | 5.4 |
| Q4 2021 | 11.5 | 22.9 | 5.4 | 2.8 | 6.3 |
| Q3 2021 | 11.7 | 22.2 | 6.2 | 2.3 | 6.1 |
| Q2 2021 | 11.8 | 22.7 | 6.4 | 2.7 | 6.3 |
| Q1 2021 | 12.2 | 21.7 | 7.4 | 1.9 | 5.8 |
Regions in Q1 2026 (Rajab – Shawwal 1447 AH)
For each region: unemployment for everyone and for Saudis, the gap between Saudi unemployment there and Saudi Arabia, its change from Q1 2025, then men, women and non-Saudis. The lowest Saudi unemployment this quarter is in Riyadh and the highest in Northern Borders.
| Region | Everyone % | Saudis % | Saudis: gap from Saudi Arabia (points) | Saudis: change in a year (points) | Saudi men % | Saudi women % | Non-Saudis % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 3.1 | 6.4 | — | +0.1 | 4.9 | 9.0 | 1.5 |
| Riyadh | 2.0 | 3.9 | −2.5 | +0.5 | 2.8 | 5.7 | 1.2 |
| Makkah | 4.6 | 8.7 | +2.3 | +0.8 | 6.9 | 12.2 | 2.8 |
| Eastern Province | 2.1 | 5.0 | −1.4 | 0.0 | 3.8 | 7.3 | 0.9 |
| Madinah | 3.5 | 7.9 | +1.5 | −0.4 | 6.0 | 11.7 | 1.4 |
| Qassim | 2.8 | 5.9 | −0.5 | −0.6 | 4.8 | 7.9 | 0.5 |
| Asir | 3.5 | 8.9 | +2.5 | −1.8 | 6.3 | 13.8 | 0.4 |
| Tabuk | 3.3 | 8.2 | +1.8 | −1.6 | 5.5 | 14.3 | 0.2 |
| Hail | 2.9 | 7.6 | +1.2 | −0.3 | 5.2 | 12.1 | 0.0 |
| Jazan | 4.1 | 8.4 | +2.0 | +0.8 | 7.6 | 10.1 | 0.7 |
| Najran | 4.0 | 6.1 | −0.3 | +1.9 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 2.6 |
| Al-Baha | 2.8 | 6.5 | +0.1 | −3.0 | 5.8 | 7.7 | 0.0 |
| Al-Jouf | 2.8 | 5.9 | −0.5 | −0.5 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 0.6 |
| Northern Borders | 5.4 | 9.9 | +3.5 | −0.4 | 7.0 | 15.5 | 2.1 |
Small differences between regions are not confirmed differences. The figure is an estimate from a sample of households, and each estimate has a margin of error that GASTAT does not publish in this file, wider in less populated regions. So we do not rank regions, and we treat a gap of less than one percentage point from Saudi Arabia as inconclusive (4 of 13 regions this quarter). A one-quarter change may come from the sample, not the market; read the direction over several quarters.
- A job seeker: You see where you compete with more job seekers like you (by sex and nationality); this describes the market, not a promise of a job in a particular region.
- An employer hiring or opening a branch: You see where Saudi men and women looking for work are more numerous; this comes before advertising a job and does not replace the interview.
- Someone moving for work: Read this table with prices and household income on the region pages.
A description of what the figures say, not advice; the decision is yours.
Employment, participation and wages by region
How many people aged 15 and over work (employment rate), how many of them are in the labour market working or looking for work (participation), and the average monthly wage of paid employees, for each region. These figures stop at the source in Q4 2024: GASTAT has not yet published them by region under the 2025 methodology, so they are older than the unemployment figures above. In Saudi Arabia: Saudi participation 51.1%, Saudi women 36.0%, and the average Saudi wage SAR 10,088 a month (+0.9% vs. Q4 2023). Latest quarter: Q4 2024 (Rabi' al-Awwal – Jumada al-Akhirah 1446 AH).
| Region | Participation: Saudis % | Participation: Saudi women % | Employment: Saudis % | Employment: everyone % | Saudi wage (SAR/month) | Saudi wage: change in a year % | Non-Saudi wage (SAR/month) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 51.1 | 36.0 | 47.5 | 64.0 | 10,088 | +0.9 | 4,434 |
| Riyadh | 56.9 | 42.9 | 54.2 | 68.8 | 11,345 | +3.1 | 5,620 |
| Makkah | 50.7 | 34.9 | 46.7 | 61.2 | 9,646 | −0.4 | 4,468 |
| Eastern Province | 53.2 | 36.2 | 50.6 | 69.8 | 9,839 | −0.5 | 4,461 |
| Madinah | 43.1 | 29.0 | 39.5 | 56.6 | 9,340 | +1.5 | 3,376 |
| Qassim | 47.8 | 33.5 | 43.5 | 60.1 | 8,728 | −2.8 | 2,620 |
| Asir | 46.0 | 31.8 | 40.9 | 60.3 | 9,793 | +2.1 | 2,768 |
| Tabuk | 49.1 | 32.2 | 43.9 | 62.0 | 9,638 | +0.4 | 3,189 |
| Hail | 47.4 | 33.4 | 44.2 | 62.6 | 9,302 | −0.6 | 2,780 |
| Jazan | 44.4 | 29.7 | 40.5 | 53.4 | 9,731 | −0.9 | 2,859 |
| Najran | 51.6 | 36.0 | 48.1 | 60.8 | 8,129 | −0.5 | 2,406 |
| Al-Baha | 44.3 | 31.0 | 40.2 | 56.6 | 9,263 | −0.3 | 2,281 |
| Al-Jouf | 54.4 | 44.4 | 50.3 | 64.1 | 9,480 | +2.2 | 2,822 |
| Northern Borders | 46.8 | 35.2 | 41.2 | 56.8 | 9,735 | −3.5 | 3,388 |
Under the 2025 methodology, for Saudi Arabia only (newer): Saudi participation in Q1 2026 (Rajab – Shawwal 1447 AH) was 49.0%, and Saudi women 33.9% (−2.4 points vs. Q1 2025). From 2021 the national figures in the table above match this methodology (we checked quarter by quarter).
The average wage is a sample estimate, not the pay of a job. It is total wages of paid employees divided by their number, so high wages pull it up and it does not say what most people earn; it excludes employers and the self-employed. In less populated regions it can move by hundreds of riyals between quarters from the sample alone, so we do not rank regions by it.
- An employer estimating hiring costs in a region: Read the average wage there together with Saudi men’s and women’s participation (how many are in the labour market at all).
- A job seeker or someone relocating: Compare wages between two regions together with prices and household income on the region pages.
A description of what the figures say, not advice; the decision is yours.
Source: Labour Force Survey, indices DPV_LFS_PLMLF010203, 010301 and 010204 (statistical database), Q2 2016 (Jumada al-Akhirah – Ramadan 1437 AH) to Q4 2024 (Rabi' al-Awwal – Jumada al-Akhirah 1446 AH), retrieved 30 September 2026 (19 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH); rates and the average wage are our calculation on the survey estimates · Files: gastat-labor-region-quarterly.csv and gastat-labor-national-quarterly.csv.
Limits of the figure and its methodology
- The source is a sample survey: GASTAT runs the Labour Force Survey each quarter on a sample of households. An “unemployed” person in the survey has no job, is looking for one, and is available for it; the unemployment rate = the unemployed ÷ the labour force (employed + unemployed). People not looking for work are not in the rate.
- One series, one methodology: the figures here follow the updated labour market methodology (2025) as GASTAT republished them from Q1 2021. GASTAT’s older series (from 2016) uses an earlier methodology; we have not pulled it and do not join it to this one, so do not compare a figure here with one published earlier.
- Non-Saudis: their unemployment is very low because most enter Saudi Arabia on an employment contract, and some small regions show zero (Al-Baha this quarter); that is what the sample measured, not a real absence of unemployment.
- Figures as GASTAT published them, to one decimal place; the gap from Saudi Arabia and the change in a year are our calculation.
- We do not know unemployment by city or governorate, by age, qualification or occupation, the number of vacancies, wages by activity or occupation here (in the open file by region only), employment and wages by region after Q4 2024, or why the figure changed from one quarter to the next. We do not forecast the next quarter.
Source: General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), Saudi Arabia — Labour Force Survey: unemployment rate by administrative region, nationality and sex, the official source of the original data. DataPulse organised the data and made calculations on it (such as percentage changes and regrouping). This processing and its results are ours; they are not an official statistic issued by GASTAT and do not imply its endorsement.
Reuse terms: GASTAT data use policy. We do not use GASTAT’s logo or marks.
The attribution statement in Arabic (the Arabic text governs; the English above is a summary)
المصدر: الهيئة العامة للإحصاء (المملكة العربية السعودية) — مسح القوى العاملة: معدل البطالة حسب المنطقة الإدارية والجنسية والجنس، وهي المصدر الرسمي للبيانات الأصلية. أجرت «نبض البيانات» على البيانات تنظيمًا وحسابًا (مثل: حساب نسب التغيّر وإعادة التجميع). هذه المعالجة والنتائج من إعدادنا وليست إحصاءً رسميًا صادرًا عن الهيئة، ولا تعني تزكية منها.
شروط إعادة الاستخدام: سياسة استخدام بيانات الهيئة. لا نستخدم شعار الهيئة ولا علاماتها.
GASTAT statistical database (index DSD_LFS_ODIN_ADMIN_ICEBERG), Q1 2021 (Jumada al-Ula – Sha'ban 1442 AH) to Q1 2026 (Rajab – Shawwal 1447 AH), retrieved 30 September 2026 (19 Rabi' al-Akhir 1448 AH) · File: gastat-unemployment-region-quarterly.csv · Hijri dates use the Umm al-Qura calendar.