Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: The private sector in Saudi Arabia has provided 622,000 new job opportunities since the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to reducing the unemployment rate in the Kingdom to its lowest level of 7.7%.

The number of Saudi employees working in the private sector reached around 2.3 million by the end of the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023, compared to 1.68 million by the end of Q2-2020, a recent report issued by Al Eqtisadiah newspaper showed.

Saudi females seized around 64% of the new jobs during this period, while Saudi males obtained 36% of the new jobs.

The surge in job opportunities was triggered by several factors, notably the Saudization programs implemented by the government and the robust economic growth in the non-oil sector.

Moreover, the localization rate in the private sector jumped by 22.4% by the end of 2023.