2.2 mln Saudis employed in private sector in Q2 2023: NLO

The National Labor Observatory (NLO) said the total number of nationals employed in the private sector reached 2.23 million in Q2 2023, the highest level of participation by nationals over the last quarters.

The total number of Saudi employees grew by nearly 210,000 year-on-year (YoY) in Q2 2023, with average growth of 42,000 employees quarterly starting from Q2 2023.

The total number of Saudi employees recorded the highest rise among both genders. Male employees reached 1.3 million, compared to 900,000 female employees in the second quarter of 2023.

The number of Saudi male employees grew by 3% YoY, compared to an increase of 14.4% YoY for female employees. Males and females accounted for 13.3% and 9% of total employees in the three-month period.

Number of Saudi employees in Private Sector in Q2 2023
	Males	Females
Number (mln)	1.3	0.9
Nationals Growth Rate	3.0%	14.4%
% of Total Employees	13.3%	9.0%

The Eastern Region and Makkah came on top by number of Saudization rates in Q2 2023, as shown in the following table:

Saudization Rates by Region
Region	Saudization Rate
Eastern region	27 %
Makkah	24 %
Riyadh	21 %
Madinah	21 %

The information and communications technology (ICT) activity led in terms of Saudization rates with 60%, followed by education (53%).

Saudization Rate by Economic Activity
Activity	Saudization Rate	Notes
ICT	60 %	Highest Participation of Saudi males
Education	53 %	Highest Participation of Saudi females
Arts & Entertainment	37%	Nationals exceed one third of total employees
Health	35 %
Water, Electricity and Industrial Activity	32 %
Construction	14 %	Lowest rates
Agriculture	4 %	Lowest rates