Saudi Arabia: Non-Saudi domestic workers by sex (Q1 2017-Q3 2023)

Males Females Total
2017 Q1 1,579,258 756,320 2,335,578
2017 Q2 1,610,224 774,375 2,384,599
2017 Q3 1,638,188 781,639 2,419,827
2017 Q4 1,673,336 739,337 2,412,673
2018 Q1 1,688,722 710,381 2,399,103
2018 Q2 1,696,589 724,514 2,421,103
2018 Q3 1,659,729 711,661 2,371,390
2018 Q4 1,627,847 826,895 2,454,742
2019 Q1 1,918,424 945,273 2,863,697
2019 Q2 2,121,644 987,529 3,109,173
2019 Q3 2,225,783 1,000,002 3,225,785
2019 Q4 2,522,113 1,168,606 3,690,719
2020 Q1 2,598,566 1,060,164 3,658,730
2020 Q2 2,627,728 1,076,913 3,704,641
2020 Q3 2,613,110 1,065,454 3,678,564
2020 Q4 2,619,534 1,044,405 3,663,939
2021 Q1 2,696,887 1,130,139 3,827,026
2021 Q2 2,554,628 892,039 3,446,667
2021 Q3 2,457,691 835,119 3,292,810
2021 Q4 2,446,355 812,013 3,258,368
2022 Q1 2,522,773 866,978 3,389,751
2022 Q2 2,509,842 877,227 3,387,069
2022 Q3 2,614,666 965,294 3,579,960
2022 Q4 2,630,027 972,012 3,602,039
2023 Q1 2,653,447 988,014 3,641,461
2023 Q2 2,664,212 1,026,717 3,690,929
2023 Q3 2,682,049 1,056,542 3,738,591

Source: Register-based Labour Market Statistics, General Authority for Statistics (GAStat)         

 

  1. Data collection methodology

 

LFS were first conducted in 2001 and became bi-annual after 2006. Data were collected through nationally representative household sample surveys, which sampling was based on most recent censuses.

Since 2016, Labour Force Surveys have been conducted and published on a quarterly basis, based on a household telephone survey conducted by GAStat. Employment data extracted from administrative records were also introduced as a complement to the results of Labour Force Surveys in Labour Market Statistics’ publications, starting on Q1 2017.

 

The present data is taken from administrative records.

 

GAStat Labour Market Statistics:

Estimates of figures and characteristics of employment in Saudi Arabia are taken from administrative records from the following institutions:

 

– Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) (formerly Ministry of Labour and Social Development):

Supplies data on Government sector’s workers.

 

– General Organization of Social Insurance (GOSI):

Supplies data on:

  1. contributors on the job who are subject to social insurance laws and regulations in the private and government sectors;
  2. workers who terminated their contribution to social insurance during the quarter.

 

– National Information Center (NIC):

Supplies data on domestic workers (data owner: MHRSD).

 

The category of domestic workers in Arab states encompasses professions performed within the household, such as maids, cooks, waiters, valets, butlers, laundresses, gardeners, gatekeepers, stable-lads, chauffeurs, caretakers, governesses, babysitters, tutors, secretaries etc.

These professions are classified in the class 9700 of section T of the International Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (ISIC), Rev. 4.

See: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division. “International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities Revision 4,” Statistical Papers, Series M No. 4/Rev.4, New York: United Nations, 2008, p. 269

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/seriesm/seriesm_4rev4e.pdf.

Definitions and categories used by GAStat in Labour Markets Statistics (employment; unemployment; occupation and activity sectors, etc.) are based on international standards.

For LFS methodology and definitions, see: https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/node/9787.

 

  1. Institution which provides data

 

General Authority for Statistics (GAStat)

 

  1. Data availability

 

Since 2021, GAStat has been publishing separately the employment data taken from administrative records, and unemployment/inactivity data as well as general indicators, calculated from the results of the field interviews conducted by GAStat (Labour Force Survey).

The present time-series was taken from the Register-based Labour Market Statistics- Q4, 2022

(English and Arabic versions):

https://www.stats.gov.sa/sites/default/files/LMS_2022_Q4_EN_1.xlsx

https://www.stats.gov.sa/sites/default/files/LMS_2022_Q4_AR_1.xlsx

and from relevant quarterly Register-based Labour Market Statistics reports for 2023, accessible from: https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/814

https://www.stats.gov.sa/ar/814

 

Date of access: 02 March 2024.

 

GLMM and GRC cannot guarantee that the link to access the source will not change; that the information will not be removed from the website it was obtained from; that no geo-blockages will be imposed; or that the information will not be available for any another reason.             

 

Keywords: Saudi Arabia, Foreign Labour, Domestic Workersez