Saudi Arabia’s labor market indicators showed a decrease in the unemployment rate by 1.4 percentage points in the third quarter of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021. The rate of participation of citizens in the labor force increased by 2.7 percentage points, and the ratio of the employed to the population increased by 3.1 percentage points, according to new data released by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). The unemployment rate for the total workers in the Kingdom reached 5.8% during the third quarter of this year, unchanged from the second quarter, while it decreased compared to 2021 by 0.8 percentage points. Based on labor market statistics for the third quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate for Saudis reached 9.9%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points, and the participation rate of citizens in the labor force increased by 0.7 percentage points, to reach 52.5%. The ratio of the employed to the Saudi population also increased by 0.5 percentage points, to reach 47.3%, compared to the previous quarter. According to the Labor Force Survey in the third quarter of this year, the unemployment rate among Saudi women rose to 20.5%, an increase of 1.2 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, while it decreased by 1.4 percentage points when measured with the same period of 2021. On the other hand, the rate of participation in the labor force for Saudi women increased by 1.4 percentage points to 37%, while the rate of employed female citizens increased by 0.7 percentage points, or by 27.4%. As for Saudi males, the unemployment rate recorded in the third quarter of 2022 was 4.3%, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, and a decrease of 1.6 percentage points from 2021. In January, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced the entry into force of the decision to localize customer service professions, and the second phase of legal professions, across the Kingdom, after the end of the specified grace period.