The Saudi government has announced plans to nationalize engineering jobs in an effort to tackle unemployment and increase the participation of Saudi citizens in the workforce. As part of the Vision 2030 diversification strategy, private sector companies will be required to allocate 25% of engineering roles to Saudi citizens starting from Sunday. The move is aimed at lowering the Saudi unemployment rate to 7% and increasing the number of Saudis in the expanding private sector. The overall unemployment rate in the country, for both Saudis and expatriates, remained stable at 3.5% in the first quarter of this year. Incentives will be provided to the private sector to encourage the recruitment of Saudi citizens, including support for recruitment, training, and job continuity. Companies that employ Saudi citizens will also gain priority access to "localization" support programs and employment schemes through the Human Resources Development Fund [7d3132ba].
This initiative comes as the Saudi Ministry of Commerce reports a significant growth in business registrations. In the second quarter of 2024, there was a 78% year-on-year increase in business registrations, with over 120,000 commercial registrations issued. The e-commerce sector saw a 17.47% increase in registrations, reaching a total of 40,697. Other sectors that experienced growth include container handling services with a 48% increase and logistics services with a 76% increase. Urban and suburban passenger transportation, arts, entertainment and recreation, short-term accommodation, cloud computing services, and artificial intelligence also recorded rises in commercial registrations. The Ministry aims to establish a pioneering position for the commerce sector in the Kingdom within a fair and stimulating environment. Riyadh recorded the highest number of commercial registrations, followed by the Eastern Provinces and Makkah. Additionally, the non-oil private sector in Saudi Arabia showed robust growth in June, driven by increased demand, higher output levels, and a rise in employment. Private sector employment reached 11.4 million by the end of June, with an increase of 16,598 Saudi nationals since April. The unemployment rate for Saudi nationals dropped to 7.7% in 2023, and the unemployment rate for females dropped to 15.5% in the same year. The Human Resources Development Fund has allocated funds to boost private sector employment numbers [7b71bfce].