Women were 81% of Saudi jobseekers in Q4

The majority of jobseekers in Saudi Arabia in the last quarter of 2016 were women, with female jobseekers constituting 80.6 percent of the total, according to a recent report by the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics. 

Women vastly outnumbered men in the 17-26 age group, accounting for 71.5 percent of total jobseekers. 

Female jobseekers also continued to look for work until retirement age, the data showed, with 3,488 women in the 57-66 age group registered as jobseekers.

Saudi women’s total economic participation rate was 19.3 percent, against 64.6 percent for men.

The unemployment rate for Saudi women was 34.5 percent in Q4, compared to 5.9 percent for men.

Saudi Arabia aims to increase female employment as part of economic diversification under its Vision 2030 initiative. The kingdom plans to raise women’s participation in the labor market from 22 percent to 30 percent.