RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s overall unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent in the third quarter of this year, reflecting a decrease of 0.7 percentage points from the same period in 2022, according to official data. The General Authority for Statistics reported that the joblessness rate among Saudi nationals was 8.6 percent in the third quarter, down 1.3 percentage points from the previous year. However, there was a slight increase of 0.2 percentage points in the Kingdom’s overall unemployment rate, encompassing both Saudis and non-Saudis, in the third quarter compared to the previous three months. Similarly, the unemployment rate among Saudi nationals increased by 0.3 percentage points in the third quarter compared to the second quarter of this year. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has set targets for the joblessness rate to decrease to 7 percent by the end of the decade, alongside a predicted women’s participation rate in the workforce of 30 percent. The report highlighted that the labor force participation rate among Saudi females increased by 0.6 percentage points to 35.9 percent in the third quarter, with the employment-to-population ratio rising by 0.3 percentage points to 30.1 percent. However, the joblessness rate among Saudi females in the third quarter increased by 0.6 percentage points to 16.3 percent compared to the second quarter. Among Saudi males, labor force participation decreased by 0.7 percentage points, reaching 66.8 percent in the third quarter. The employment-to-population ratio among Saudi males also declined by 0.7 percentage points to reach 63.47 percent. On the other hand, the joblessness rate among Saudi males remained unchanged at 4.6 percent in the third quarter, compared to the previous three months. The GASTAT report noted that a significant 94.7 percent of unemployed Saudi nationals are open to job opportunities in the private sector. Regarding commuting preferences, the report indicated that 61.7 percent of unemployed Saudi females and 47.8 percent of Saudi males without jobs are willing to commute for a maximum of one hour. Additionally, 75.8 percent of unemployed Saudi females and 89.5 percent of Saudi males without a job indicated that they would accept work for eight hours or more per day. Among job seekers in the Kingdom, the most commonly used active search method was seeking assistance from friends and relatives, with 84.8 percent of aspirants using this method in the third quarter. The report added that 73.4 percent of unemployed Saudi nationals applied directly to employers, while 61.5 percent used the National Employment Platform, also known as Jadarat.