In Three Months, 17000 Foreigners Left The Saudi Labor Market

In Saudi Arabia, almost 17,000 foreigners quit the Saudi labor market in the first quarter of this year. Last year’s figures saw a record decline on an annualized basis.

During the third and fourth quarters of 2020, 137,000 foreigners left the Saudi labor market. This time the average reduction has exceeded 87%. 

According to the Al-Watan newspaper, according to the statistics of the Department of Statistics and the Higher Institute of Social Insurance, at the end of the first quarter of this year, the number of foreigners working in private companies decreased to 62,054,660. At the end of 2020, their number was 62,073,354. 

In the fourth quarter of last year, the number of foreigners leaving the labor market was recorded at 137,000, while at the end of the third quarter, the number of foreigners employed in private companies was 6.41 million.

At the end of the third quarter of last year, the number of foreigners registered in social insurance decreased by 1.7%, which means that 111,041 foreign employees have opted out of the social insurance system.

During 2020, the number of foreigners employed in private companies decreased by 25.3 thousand. They numbered 6.65 million in the second quarter. That number was 6.73 million in the first quarter.