RIYADH: Riyadh has recorded the lowest unemployment rate across Saudi Arabia of 6.7 percent, as the Kingdom steadily progresses in achieving the goals outlined in its Vision 2030. According to the latest data released by the General Authority for Statistics, the unemployment rate in Madinah was recorded at 12.2 percent, followed by Jazan at 11 percent and Makkah at 7 percent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. The Kingdom has set a target unemployment rate of 7 percent by 2030. The report further noted that the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province stands at 6.9 percent by the end of 2022. The unemployment rate among Saudis also decreased significantly in the fourth quarter of 2022, reaching 8 percent, compared to 9.9 percent in the third quarter. The unemployment rate of the overall population in Saudi Arabia in the fourth quarter reached 4.8 percent. “The impressive decrease in the unemployment rate resulted from a double effect of the decrease in labor force participation and at the same time the employment growth,” GASTAT said in its report. The GASTAT report further added that the unemployment rate among Saudis with a doctorate degree was the lowest at 0.2 percent. On the other hand, Saudis who had a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent had the highest unemployment rate of 9.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022. The unemployment rate among Saudi diploma holders and high school graduates stood at 8.1 percent and 7.4 percent respectively, the report added. In terms of unemployment among Saudis according to educational specializations, the highest rate was in natural sciences, mathematics and statistics which stood at 12.8 percent, followed by arts and humanities at 11.6 percent, and communications and information technology at 10 percent. Meanwhile, unemployment among Saudi women dropped to 15.4 percent in the final three months of 2022 from 20.5 percent in the previous quarter, though their labor force participation rate fell 1 percentage point to 36 percent.