Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Aug 09, 2026

Saudis constitute 82.2% of workforce in financial and insurance activities

Saudis constitute 82.2% of workforce in financial and insurance activities

Reflecting the success of localization efforts, Saudis constituted 82.2 percent of the number of workers in the financial and insurance sectors in 2022.
Saudi citizens who are working in financial and insurance activities reached 75,001, while foreigners totaled only 16,290 or 17.8 percent, bringing the total number of workers to 91,291 last year.

Male workers made up 93 percent of the workforce in financial and insurance activities – reaching 71,648 workers in 2022, while the number of females working in these activities hit 19,643, according to Al-Eqtisadiyah.

Saudi females made up the majority in these jobs, constituting 18,983 workers, whereas the remaining 660 females were foreigners.

With 71,387 workers, the Riyadh region accounted for 78.2 percent of all Saudi workers in these sectors.

Makkah ranked second with 11,487 workers and Al-Sharqiyah region came in third with 7,202 workers.

In April, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development implemented the initial stage of localizing 30 percent of consultancy professions and businesses across the Kingdom.

In October last year, HRSD minister Ahmad bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi said these decisions have contributed to raising the number of Saudi workers in the private sector to over 2.12 million.

Al-Rajhi added that private sector establishments’ compliance rate with the labor system and its regulations reached 98 percent during 2022.

Additionally, the moves by the ministry have contributed to reducing the unemployment rate of Saudi citizens to 9.7 percent, as well as increasing women’s economic participation rate to 35.6 percent.

Across the board, authorities and ministries are also implementing Saudization initiatives.

This aligns with the Saudi Vision 2030 goal to reduce unemployment rates by increasing employment opportunities in the Kingdom.

Saudization is officially known as the Saudi nationalization scheme, Nitaqat.

The Kingdom’s efforts to create more jobs in line with Vision 2030 are showing fruition with the country coming first in the labor force growth rate among the Group of 20 countries during the period 2012-2021, according to a report launched by the National Labor Observatory last year.

According to Saudi Arabia’s Central Department of Statistics and Information, the unemployment rate in the Kingdom decreased to 5.8 percent in the second quarter of 2022, from 6 percent in the first quarter of 2022.

To achieve its Vision 2030 goals, the Kingdom is not only encouraging the recruitment of nationals to private sector jobs but is also encouraging adequate investment in their future to ensure their retention by employers as well as their contribution to a vibrant and diverse economy.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s Father and Longtime Agent, Dies at 68
AI’s Next Bottleneck Is Power, Not Just Nvidia Chips
Meta Raises AI Spending Target to as Much as $145bn Despite Pressure Over Returns
Joe Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Beyond His Bones, Hunter Biden Says
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Why Markets May Look Quiet in August After Big Tech Earnings
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
UFO: Pentagon Releases Video of Unidentified Object Tracked Over Middle East
Ukraine Tells Senate Republicans Its Drone War Offers a Blueprint for America
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Mutual-Defence Pact
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
A SpaceX Rocket Is About to Crash Into the Moon — and Scientists Hope to Watch
Modern Slavery Decisions Broaden the Al Fayed Inquiry’s Frame
FIFA’s Retreat Leaves a Larger Question Over Who Guards the Game
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Arrest Warrant Issued in Lebanon for Tycoon Spotted Meeting Netanyahu in Washington
Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Pentagon Discloses Nearly 100 US Troop Injuries During Renewed Iran Fighting
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
Gold and Cash Seizure Puts Indonesia’s Senior Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Under Investigation
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Passenger Bound for Germany Refused to Sit Beside a Woman on a Plane — Then Slapped a Flight Attendant
Ukraine’s Leadership Rift Spills Into the Streets as Protesters Target Army Chief
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
Leadership Change and Strategic Rivalry Redraw the Political Map
The AI Race Enters Its Infrastructure Era
Britain Nationalises British Steel to Protect Scunthorpe Production and Strategic Supply
×