The economic participation rate for the overall population was 55.5 percent compared with 55.6 percent during the fourth quarter of 2017. JEDDAH: Participation of Saudis in the country’s economy is rising, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) labor market bulletin for the first quarter of 2018. The bulletin’s results are based on a quarterly labor force survey by GASTAT as well as labor market data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, the Ministry of Civil Service and other public bodies. Saudis’ economic participation rate has risen from 41.86 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 to 41.89 percent in the first quarter of 2018, the survey showed. The economic participation rate for the overall population was 55.5 percent compared with 55.6 percent during the fourth quarter of 2017.