AN ANALYSIS OF SAUDI WOMEN’S UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE IMPACT OF VISION 2030

Abstract

This study addresses the problem of high female unemployment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data from the General Authority for Statistics indicates that the female unemployment rate has increased significantly from 17.6% in 2000 to 33.8% in 2015, an increase of 16.2 points annually. The highest female unemployment rate was recorded in 2012 at 35.7%, while the lowest rate was in 2001 at 17.3%. Previous studies show that female unemployment negatively impacts women's empowerment in Saudi Arabia, whether in terms of education, social and cultural barriers, economic participation, leadership, or gender discrimination. The Saudi government has taken many comprehensive measures and reforms to mitigate female unemployment and increase their participation in the labor market through Vision 2030 and supporting programs such as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program, the Wusool program, the Qara program, the Tamheer program, and the Qiyadat program. The Kingdom's Vision 2030 for national transformation was launched in 2016 by the Saudi Crown Prince. It includes several objectives, including developing human capabilities and reducing unemployment, which is significantly higher among women than men. This study analyzes the role of Vision 2030 reforms in lowering women's unemployment rates. This study uses a quantitative, cross-sectional, and time-series approach to combine trend analyses of the unemployment rate, labor force, economic participation, and unemployment by educational level and age group for Saudi women across the two periods before and after the implementation of the Vision. The study is based on secondary data from the Saudi General Authority for Statistics, covering the period from 2010 to 2023, including the years before and after the implementation of Vision 2030. The results indicated that Vision 2030 expanded the range of economic opportunities available to women, leading to significant progress in reducing the unemployment rate among women and empowering them by increasing their economic participation in the labor market during the post-policy implementation period from 2017 to 2023. At the end, this study provides policy recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 initiatives and strategies for continued improvement.