{
  "slug": "saudi-hr-tech-market",
  "question": "How big is the Saudi HR tech market — how many workers and employers are there, what does payroll cost, and how do people find jobs?",
  "title": "Saudi HR Tech Market 2026: Workforce, Employers, Wages, Hiring Channels and the Payroll Rules",
  "answer": {
    "headline": "Saudi Arabia has 13,987,636 workers in social insurance and 19,459,402 in all administrative records (Q2 2026); insured employment was up 8.97% year on year in Q1 2026, and 487,339 people entered insured jobs in a single quarter. The average monthly wage is SAR 11,424 for Saudi nationals against SAR 4,090 for non-Saudi workers, and 650,000 private firms (2023) must run payroll through the Wage Protection System.",
    "sample": "GASTAT register-based labour statistics and Labour Force Survey (Q2 2026), ILO wage protection report, Monsha'at, HRDF releases via Saudi Press Agency, World Bank/ILO estimates, SMASCO and Maharah IPO prospectuses, Wamda (funding)",
    "verifiedAsOf": "2026-10-18"
  },
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "workforce",
      "title": "Who is on a Saudi payroll: workers in administrative records, mid-2026",
      "note": "Register-based counts from social insurance (GOSI), civil service and domestic-worker records. These are the employees an HR, payroll or WPS product would process — not survey estimates.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "All workers in administrative records",
          "value": "19,459,402",
          "segment": "GOSI + civil service + domestic workers",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Workers registered in social insurance (GOSI)",
          "value": "13,987,636",
          "segment": "private and public sector under GOSI",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Private-sector workers",
          "value": "13,348,541",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Non-Saudi workers in GOSI",
          "value": "10,820,468",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Saudi nationals in GOSI",
          "value": "3,167,168",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Saudi nationals in the private sector",
          "value": "2,652,023",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Saudi women in GOSI",
          "value": "1,284,588",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Registered domestic workers",
          "value": "4,346,173",
          "segment": "all non-Saudi; household employers",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Employees under civil-service regulations",
          "value": "1,125,593",
          "segment": "government",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Year-on-year growth in GOSI-registered workers",
          "value": "8.97%",
          "segment": "Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025",
          "period": "2026-Q1",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q1+2026+EN+%281%29.xlsx/dbf31cd0-2a92-cdcb-7e4e-d43991193fa6?t=1782807287661",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Three-year growth rate (CAGR) of GOSI-registered workers",
          "value": "10.22% a year",
          "segment": "Q1 2023 to Q1 2026",
          "period": "2023-Q1..2026-Q1",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q1+2026+EN+%281%29.xlsx/dbf31cd0-2a92-cdcb-7e4e-d43991193fa6?t=1782807287661",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "flows",
      "title": "Hiring and exits in one quarter: social-insurance entries and suspensions, Q2 2026",
      "note": "Gross flows through GOSI in a single quarter. New participants are hires into insured jobs; suspensions are people whose insured employment stopped. Flows of this size are the onboarding and offboarding volume HR software handles.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "New participants entering social insurance",
          "value": "487,339",
          "segment": "all nationalities, per quarter",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "— of which non-Saudi",
          "value": "323,467",
          "segment": "per quarter",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "— of which Saudi nationals",
          "value": "163,872",
          "segment": "per quarter",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "— of which Saudi women",
          "value": "75,934",
          "segment": "per quarter",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Participants suspended in the quarter",
          "value": "245,567",
          "segment": "all nationalities, per quarter",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "— of which non-Saudi",
          "value": "142,149",
          "segment": "per quarter",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "— of which Saudi nationals",
          "value": "103,418",
          "segment": "per quarter",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "New entrants aged 20–24",
          "value": "90,418",
          "segment": "all nationalities, per quarter",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "New entrants aged 25–29",
          "value": "123,010",
          "segment": "largest age band, per quarter",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "New entrants aged 30–34",
          "value": "84,331",
          "segment": "per quarter",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "sectors",
      "title": "Where the insured workforce sits: GOSI participants by activity, Q2 2026",
      "note": "Same register, split by the employer's economic activity. Construction alone holds more insured workers than retail and manufacturing combined (calculation from the rows below).",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Construction",
          "value": "3,348,143",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Wholesale and retail trade",
          "value": "1,803,668",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Administrative and support services",
          "value": "1,526,099",
          "segment": "includes manpower and staffing firms",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Manufacturing",
          "value": "1,489,483",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Transportation and storage",
          "value": "835,816",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Accommodation and food services",
          "value": "706,727",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Human health and social work",
          "value": "483,633",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Education",
          "value": "310,181",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Professional, scientific and technical",
          "value": "300,645",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Information and communication",
          "value": "182,917",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Financial and insurance",
          "value": "109,390",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ],
      "chart": "bars"
    },
    {
      "id": "occupations",
      "title": "What they do: GOSI participants by occupation, Q2 2026",
      "note": "Elementary occupations are the largest group and almost entirely non-Saudi; professionals are the second largest.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Elementary occupations",
          "value": "6,006,568",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Professionals",
          "value": "1,975,497",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Plant and machine operators",
          "value": "1,444,293",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Craft and related trades",
          "value": "1,258,555",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Technicians and associate professionals",
          "value": "1,190,855",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Service and sales workers",
          "value": "996,396",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Clerical support workers",
          "value": "651,686",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Managers",
          "value": "428,069",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ],
      "chart": "bars"
    },
    {
      "id": "employers",
      "title": "The buyers: how many employers there are and how small they are",
      "note": "Different registers count different units (establishments, enterprises, WPS-covered firms), so the rows give an order of magnitude rather than one total.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Micro-enterprises (1–5 employees)",
          "value": "1,138,588",
          "segment": "establishments",
          "period": "2023",
          "source": "Monsha'at (SME General Authority)",
          "url": "https://www.monshaat.gov.sa/en/node/53859",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Private enterprises covered by the Wage Protection System",
          "value": "650,000",
          "segment": "every private employer must pay wages through WPS",
          "period": "2023",
          "source": "ILO Regional Office for Arab States — wage protection report",
          "url": "https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/ILO_Beirut_Wage-Protection_Report_R10.pdf",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Establishments using HRDF services",
          "value": "171,000",
          "segment": "first half of 2026",
          "period": "2026-H1",
          "source": "Saudi Press Agency (HRDF release)",
          "url": "https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2657031",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Growth in establishments using HRDF services",
          "value": "+25%",
          "segment": "year on year",
          "period": "2026-H1",
          "source": "Saudi Press Agency (HRDF release)",
          "url": "https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2657031",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "SMEs and micro firms among establishments using HRDF",
          "value": "95%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-H1",
          "source": "Saudi Press Agency (HRDF release)",
          "url": "https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2657031",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Employers as a share of total employment",
          "value": "3.9%",
          "segment": "ILO modelled estimate",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "World Bank (ILO modelled estimates)",
          "url": "https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/SAU;ARE;EGY;MAR;JOR;QAT/indicator/SL.EMP.MPYR.ZS?format=json&date=2022:2024&per_page=300",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "wages",
      "title": "What payroll costs: average monthly wage per paid employee, Q2 2026 (SAR)",
      "note": "Labour Force Survey averages. The gap between Saudi and non-Saudi wages is the core of the payroll cost structure that Saudization rules act on.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "All paid employees",
          "value": "SAR 5,794",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Saudi nationals",
          "value": "SAR 11,424",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Saudi women",
          "value": "SAR 9,249",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Non-Saudi workers",
          "value": "SAR 4,090",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Non-Saudi women",
          "value": "SAR 2,395",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Saudi nationals aged 25–34",
          "value": "SAR 9,255",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Non-Saudi workers aged 25–34",
          "value": "SAR 3,072",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "All nationalities aged 15–24",
          "value": "SAR 2,939",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "All nationalities aged 45–54",
          "value": "SAR 7,847",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ],
      "chart": "bars"
    },
    {
      "id": "channels",
      "title": "How Saudis look for work: job-search methods of the unemployed",
      "note": "Share of unemployed people using each method (several methods per person). The state platform Jadarat is used by about half of unemployed Saudis — and by none of the non-Saudi unemployed in the survey.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Applying directly to employers — unemployed Saudis",
          "value": "76.8%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/w/labor-market-statistics-q1-2026-1",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Jadarat national employment platform — unemployed Saudis",
          "value": "53.5%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/w/labor-market-statistics-q1-2026-1",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Jadarat — unemployed Saudi women",
          "value": "57.54%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Jadarat — unemployed non-Saudis",
          "value": "0%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Posting or updating a résumé on professional or social networks — all unemployed",
          "value": "47.06%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Asking friends and relatives — all unemployed",
          "value": "51.94%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Friends and relatives — unemployed non-Saudis",
          "value": "63.43%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Contacting private employment offices — all unemployed",
          "value": "29.51%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Average number of search methods per unemployed person",
          "value": "3.4",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ],
      "chart": "bars"
    },
    {
      "id": "candidates",
      "title": "The candidate pool: unemployment, participation and willingness to take private-sector jobs",
      "note": "Saudi nationals are the pool Saudization quotas draw on; long-term unemployment shows how slowly the matching works.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Unemployment rate, total population",
          "value": "3.0%",
          "segment": "Saudis and non-Saudis",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Unemployment rate, Saudi nationals",
          "value": "6.5%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/w/labor-market-statistics-q1-2026-1",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Unemployment rate, Saudi women",
          "value": "9.56%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Labour force participation, Saudi nationals",
          "value": "48.7%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en-pdf",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Labour force participation, Saudi women",
          "value": "33.68%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Unemployed Saudis out of work 12 months or more",
          "value": "54.52%",
          "segment": "share of unemployed Saudis",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Unemployed Saudi women out of work 12 months or more",
          "value": "56.03%",
          "segment": "share of unemployed Saudi women",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Unemployed Saudis willing to take a private-sector job",
          "value": "96.75%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2026-Q2",
          "source": "GASTAT (General Authority for Statistics)",
          "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Youth (15–24) not in employment, education or training",
          "value": "16.39%",
          "segment": "ILO estimate",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "rplumber.ilo.org",
          "url": "https://rplumber.ilo.org/data/indicator/?id=EIP_NEET_SEX_RT_A&ref_area=SAU+ARE+QAT+OMN+BHR+KWT+EGY+JOR+ISR&timefrom=2019&format=csv&type=both",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "public-money",
      "title": "Public money in hiring and training: the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF)",
      "note": "HRDF subsidises training and wages of Saudis hired into the private sector — a payer that sits beside the employer.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "HRDF spending on training, empowerment and guidance",
          "value": "SAR 8.296 billion",
          "segment": "full year",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Saudi Press Agency (HRDF release)",
          "url": "https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2504820",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "HRDF direct support to individuals and establishments",
          "value": "SAR 4.9 billion",
          "segment": "first half of 2026",
          "period": "2026-H1",
          "source": "Saudi Press Agency (HRDF release)",
          "url": "https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2657031",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Saudis employed in the private sector with HRDF support",
          "value": "560,000",
          "segment": "full year",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Saudi Press Agency (HRDF release)",
          "url": "https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2504820",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Saudis employed with HRDF support",
          "value": "329,000",
          "segment": "first half of 2026",
          "period": "2026-H1",
          "source": "Saudi Press Agency (HRDF release)",
          "url": "https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2657031",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Growth in HRDF-supported placements",
          "value": "+23%",
          "segment": "H1 2026 vs H1 2025",
          "period": "2026-H1",
          "source": "Saudi Press Agency (HRDF release)",
          "url": "https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2657031",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "incumbents",
      "title": "How the listed manpower companies make money",
      "note": "The two listed Saudi manpower firms disclose their economics in IPO prospectuses: low gross margins, almost no marketing spend, revenue per deployed worker. The Maharah figures are older than three years and shown for history.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "SMASCO revenue, last full year before IPO",
          "value": "SAR 1,839,889 thousand",
          "segment": "FY2022",
          "period": "2022",
          "source": "SMASCO IPO prospectus (Capital Market Authority)",
          "url": "https://cma.org.sa/en/Market/Prospectuses/Documents/smasco_en.pdf",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "SMASCO gross profit margin",
          "value": "12.9%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2022",
          "source": "SMASCO IPO prospectus (Capital Market Authority)",
          "url": "https://cma.org.sa/en/Market/Prospectuses/Documents/smasco_en.pdf",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "SMASCO net profit margin",
          "value": "8.2%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2022",
          "source": "SMASCO IPO prospectus (Capital Market Authority)",
          "url": "https://cma.org.sa/en/Market/Prospectuses/Documents/smasco_en.pdf",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "SMASCO marketing expenses as share of revenue",
          "value": "1.8%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2022",
          "source": "SMASCO IPO prospectus (Capital Market Authority)",
          "url": "https://cma.org.sa/en/Market/Prospectuses/Documents/smasco_en.pdf",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "SMASCO annual revenue per deployed worker, corporate segment",
          "value": "SAR 56,791",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2022",
          "source": "SMASCO IPO prospectus (Capital Market Authority)",
          "url": "https://cma.org.sa/en/Market/Prospectuses/Documents/smasco_en.pdf",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "SMASCO IPO valuation to revenue",
          "value": "1.63×",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2024",
          "source": "SMASCO IPO prospectus (Capital Market Authority)",
          "url": "https://cma.org.sa/en/Market/Prospectuses/Documents/smasco_en.pdf",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Maharah gross profit margin",
          "value": "25.0%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2017",
          "source": "Maharah IPO prospectus (Capital Market Authority)",
          "url": "https://cma.org.sa/en/Market/Prospectuses/Documents/Maharah_Prospectus_en.PDF",
          "tier": 1,
          "stale": true
        },
        {
          "label": "Maharah net income margin",
          "value": "17.4%",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2017",
          "source": "Maharah IPO prospectus (Capital Market Authority)",
          "url": "https://cma.org.sa/en/Market/Prospectuses/Documents/Maharah_Prospectus_en.PDF",
          "tier": 1,
          "stale": true
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "funding",
      "title": "Venture funding for HR tech startups, 2025",
      "note": "Deal counts from a startup-data provider; small numbers of deals, so one round moves the total.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Saudi Arabia — HR tech funding raised",
          "value": "$11M",
          "segment": "4 deals · proxy: single industry source",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Wamda — MENA investments 2025 year in review",
          "url": "https://www.wamda.com/research/pdf/2025-year-review-investments-mena",
          "tier": 3
        },
        {
          "label": "Saudi Arabia — HR tech deals",
          "value": "4",
          "segment": "proxy: single industry source",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Wamda — MENA investments 2025 year in review",
          "url": "https://www.wamda.com/research/pdf/2025-year-review-investments-mena",
          "tier": 3
        },
        {
          "label": "UAE — HR tech funding raised",
          "value": "$43M",
          "segment": "8 deals · proxy: single industry source",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Wamda — MENA investments 2025 year in review",
          "url": "https://www.wamda.com/research/pdf/2025-year-review-investments-mena",
          "tier": 3
        },
        {
          "label": "MENA — HR tech funding raised",
          "value": "$55.9M",
          "segment": "17 deals · proxy: single industry source",
          "period": "2025",
          "source": "Wamda — MENA investments 2025 year in review",
          "url": "https://www.wamda.com/research/pdf/2025-year-review-investments-mena",
          "tier": 3
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "rules",
      "title": "Rules that make payroll a compliance product",
      "note": "The Wage Protection System ties every private payroll to social-insurance records and to enforcement.",
      "rows": [
        {
          "label": "Wage Protection System: all private-sector employers pay wages through authorised financial institutions",
          "value": "in force",
          "segment": "rollout from 1 June 2013; every private entity covered since 31 December 2020",
          "period": "since 2013",
          "source": "ILO (Saudi Ministry decision no. 803)",
          "url": "https://www.ilo.org/media/234261/download",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "WPS compliance thresholds by company size and the Mudad escalation calendar",
          "value": "in force",
          "segment": "payroll files checked against GOSI registration",
          "period": "since December 2020",
          "source": "ILO Regional Office for Arab States — wage protection report",
          "url": "https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/ILO_Beirut_Wage-Protection_Report_R10.pdf",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Sanctions for wage non-payment: fine per worker and staged suspension of ministry services",
          "value": "in force",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "since 31 December 2020",
          "source": "ILO Regional Office for Arab States — wage protection report",
          "url": "https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/ILO_Beirut_Wage-Protection_Report_R10.pdf",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Wage-violation inspections carried out per year",
          "value": "100,000",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2023",
          "source": "ILO Regional Office for Arab States — wage protection report",
          "url": "https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/ILO_Beirut_Wage-Protection_Report_R10.pdf",
          "tier": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Labour inspectors working with the WPS",
          "value": "1,000",
          "segment": "",
          "period": "2023",
          "source": "ILO Regional Office for Arab States — wage protection report",
          "url": "https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/ILO_Beirut_Wage-Protection_Report_R10.pdf",
          "tier": 1
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "reconciliation": {
    "title": "Why Saudi workforce and employer numbers disagree",
    "body": "The counts come from different registers. GOSI covers insured employees in the private sector and part of the public sector; civil-service employees and domestic workers sit in separate records, which is why the Saudi administrative total (19,459,402) is far above the Saudi GOSI count (13,987,636). Domestic workers are employed by households, not firms, and are a different buyer from a company HR department. Employer counts also use different units: Monsha'at counts establishments by size, the ILO report counts enterprises covered by WPS, and HRDF counts establishments that used its services in a period — none of them is a census of employers. Unemployment and wage rows come from the Labour Force Survey, a household survey, not from registers. Job-search methods are asked only of the unemployed, so they describe how jobseekers search, not how employers hire. The listed manpower companies are labour suppliers, not software vendors: their margins describe the staffing business. Funding rows come from a single startup-data provider and cover a handful of deals.",
    "sources": [
      {
        "source": "GASTAT — Register-based Labour Market Statistics Q2 2026",
        "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/20117/2435273/Register-based+Labour+Market+Statistics-+Q2+2026+EN.xlsx/fbbb6b2c-5d38-ae17-3cab-a54c3df75356"
      },
      {
        "source": "GASTAT — Labour Market Statistics Q2 2026",
        "url": "https://www.stats.gov.sa/documents/d/guest/labor-market-statistics-q2-2026-en"
      },
      {
        "source": "ILO — Wage protection systems in the Arab States",
        "url": "https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/ILO_Beirut_Wage-Protection_Report_R10.pdf"
      },
      {
        "source": "Monsha'at — SME statistics",
        "url": "https://www.monshaat.gov.sa/en/node/53859"
      }
    ]
  },
  "methodology": "Every number on this page is a fact node in the God of Startups Atlas — a knowledge graph where each metric carries its source URL, reporting period, evidence tier and the verbatim quote it was taken from. Tier 1 means official or statutory sources (GASTAT, ILO, Monsha'at, HRDF, Capital Market Authority prospectuses); tier 3 rows come from a single startup-data provider (Wamda) and are marked as proxy. Values are shown in the currency the source reports; nothing is converted, estimated or modelled.",
  "metaTitle": "Saudi HR Tech Market 2026: Workforce, Wages, Payroll Rules",
  "metaDescription": "13,987,636 workers in Saudi social insurance (Q2 2026); average wage SAR 11,424 for Saudis vs SAR 4,090 for non-Saudis; 650,000 firms pay through WPS.",
  "cite": "God of Startups Atlas (2026). Saudi HR Tech Market 2026: Workforce, Employers, Wages, Hiring Channels and the Payroll Rules. https://godofstartups.com/atlas/saudi-hr-tech-market — data: GASTAT, ILO, Monsha'at. Licence: CC BY 4.0.",
  "page": "https://godofstartups.com/atlas/saudi-hr-tech-market",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "note": "Each row carries its primary source, period and evidence tier (1 = official/statutory, 2 = industry research with disclosed method)."
}