Page 21 - U4SSC Factsheet, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 2020

Innovation and Employment

Category KPI Result Performance to Benchmark SDG

R&D expenditure 0.11 %
(relative to GDP)

Patents
(per 100 000 8.47
inhabitants)
Small and Medium-
Sized Enterprises Not Reported
(SMEs)

Unemployment Rate 6.70 %

Youth 6.93 %
Unemployment Rate

Tourism Sector 10.83 %
Employment

ICT Sector 0.95 %
Employment

Unemployment levels are relatively low in Riyadh – approximately half of the Saudi Arabian overall
unemployment rate of 12.5% (Q1 - 2019). There is also a large disparity between the national
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unemployment rates among Saudi men (at 6.6%) and Saudi women (at 31.7%). Women across the
country are much less likely to enter the workforce than Saudi and women elsewhere in the first place,
and face barriers when they do want to enter.

Riyadh’s rate of youth unemployment is significantly lower than the national level of 25.8 per cent
(2018). This is encouraging when also compared with the broader Middle East and North Africa
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(MENA) region, where although each country has its own unique circumstances, youth employment is
a continuing issue throughout the region, having reached 30 per cent in 2017. In Saudi Arabia, youth
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unemployment levels in particular are much higher among nationals (at 42%) and young women
(at 80% higher than those among young men). Waithood can be a particular issue in the country,
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where youth often search for years before successfully finding work.

Optimizing innovation, fostering equity and driving growth: Given the above, it is recommended
that Riyadh decompose and examine the underlying trends behind its overall youth unemployment KPI
and takes steps to mitigate and monitor any concerning underlying trends. Riyadh should, especially,
study its unemployment rates disaggregated by gender, and take steps to mitigate and monitor any
gaps that it finds.

U4SSC Factsheet | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | June 2020 15