RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s recruitment market is set to surge with 57 percent of firms planning to expand their workforces during 2023, according to a new report. Research by Dubai-based recruitment specialist Cooper Fitch shows that over the next twelve months, a third of the companies surveyed intend to increase their workforce by up to 9 percent, while almost a quarter said they are looking at increasing employee numbers by over 10 percent. The firm reported that 43 percent are planning salary adjustments in 2023, with wages increasing by just over 3 percent. However, 22 percent of the businesses reported plans to reduce salaries over the coming 12 months. “This figure is based not only on the data we have gathered through our survey but also on broader recruitment trends witnessed in the market during the past year,” said Trefor Murphy, Cooper Fitch’s founder and CEO. To achieve its Vision 2030 employment goals, authorities and ministries throughout the Kingdom are implementing Saudization initiatives. Saudi Arabia is not only encouraging the recruitment of nationals to private sector jobs but is also encouraging adequate investment in their future to ensure their retention by employers as well as their contribution to a vibrant and diverse economy. Speaking of the localization of sectors and professions in October, the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi said that these decisions have contributed to raising the number of Saudi workers in the private sector to over 2.12 million. Additionally, the decisions contributed to reducing the unemployment rate of Saudi citizens to 9.7 percent, as well as increasing the women’s economic participation rate to 35.6 percent. Al-Rajhi added that private sector establishments’ compliance rate with the labor system and its regulations has reached 98 percent during this year. The Kingdom"s efforts to create more jobs in line with Vision 2030 are showing fruition with the country coming first in the labor force growth rate among the Group of 20 countries during the period 2012 - 2021, according to a recent report launched by the National Labor Observatory. According to Saudi Arabia"s Central Department of Statistics and Information, the unemployment rate in the Kingdom decreased to 5.80 percent in the second quarter of 2022, from 6 percent in the first quarter of 2022.