The Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) today released the 'Labour Market Statistics for Q4 of 2019'. It is based on the estimates of the labour force survey which is conducted by GASTAT on a quarterly basis as well as the labour market's data from the administrative records of relevant entities, namely the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, Human Resources Development Fund, National Information Center, and General Organization for Social Insurance. Based on the estimates of the Labour Force Survey for Q4 of 2019, the unemployment rate for total population (15+) reached 5.7%, achieving a decrease of -0.4 percentage points, compared to Q4 of 2018. On the other hand, the rate of participation in the labour force for total population (15+) was 58.8%, recording an increase of 2.9 percentage points, compared to Q4 of 2018. The decrease in the unemployment rate and the increase in the labour force participation rate is due to the increase in the number of workers in the Survey. Regarding Saudi Arabia's labour force indicators for Q4 of 2019 compared to the previous quarter of the same year, the unemployment rate decreased from 12.9% in Q2 of 2018 to 12.0% in Q3 of 2019, and settled at this level in Q4 of 2019. The unemployment rate of Saudi males reached 4.9%, a decrease of -0.8 percentage points, compared to Q3 of 2019, whereas the unemployment rate among Saudi females remained unchanged at 30.8%. Results indicated that 64.1% of unemployed Saudis aged (20-29). About half of the unemployed Saudis with a percentage of (56.4%) hold a Bachelor's degree. The majors of 27.7% of the unemployed Saudis who hold a diploma and higher are humanities. However, 84.5% of Saudi males and 97.9% of unemployed Saudi females have never worked before. --More 18:36 LOCAL TIME 15:36 GMT 0017 www.spa.gov.sa/2074314
