Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Female workers contribute to drop in unemployment rate
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The decline in the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia comes as Saudi women join the workforce in record numbers.
The overall Saudi unemployment rate fell to 11.7% in the first quarter of 2021 compared with 12.6% in the last quarter of 2020, the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) said on Wednesday.
Female participation in the workforce rose to 33.6% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 32.1% in the previous quarter.
According to GASTAT, the joblessness figure is the lowest since the second quarter of 2016 (11.6%).