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His Excellency the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, Eng. Ahmed ibn Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, revealed that the system participates in 8 of the Vision 2030 programs and works to achieve 26 strategic objectives through more than 100 initiatives, of which more than 70% have been completed. His Excellency pointed out that the most prominent achievements of the labor market were achieved through the labor market strategy launched by the Ministry in 2020, and 92% of its targets were implemented, which contributed to reducing the unemployment rate among Saudis to 6.8% in the second quarter of this year after it was 12% in 2019, exceeding the vision target of 7% in 2030. This came in his speech during the second dialogue session of the 2026 Budget Forum entitled "The Budget within the Framework of Developing Basic Services", today, Wednesday.
His Excellency expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Highness the Crown Prince for the adoption of the General Budget of the State for the year 2026, which reflects the continued generous support for the national development process, noting that the human resources and social development system, thanks to God, and then with the support of the wise leadership, has achieved qualitative achievements in the labor market, empowering the deserving groups and enhancing the contribution of the non-profit sector to sustainable development, in a way that translates the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030.
Al-Rajhi pointed out that the number of Saudis working in the private sector increased to about 2.5 million employees, while the participation of women in the labor market reached 34.5% compared to 23% in 2019, stressing that these transformations reflect the maturity of the national labor market. The ministry also issued more than 30 professional Saudization decisions in qualitative fields such as engineering, accounting and pharmacy, to double the presence of national competencies, as the percentage of Saudis working in these professions increased by more than 100%, and in some cases reached 300%.
In the field of training and capacity development, His Excellency said that the national training campaign "Waad" provided more than 2 million training opportunities out of 4.5 million targets until 2028, and the skills accelerator was launched to qualify 300,000 citizens until 2027. The number of beneficiaries of the programs of the Human Resources Development Fund "Hadaf" reached more than 1.5 million citizens with the support of more than SAR 3.8 billion.
On the social empowerment side, Al-Rajhi explained that the system implements more than 127 social programs in partnership with government agencies with a total expenditure of more than SAR 120 billion annually, the most prominent of which is the Citizen Account Program, which was issued by the wise leadership to extend its work with additional support until the end of 2026. The Social Development Bank has also provided more than SAR 44.5 billion in financing over the past five years, benefiting more than 567,000 citizens.
His Excellency pointed to the launch of the strategic "Empowerment Clinics" initiative in seven regions; to raise the quality of life of community members and enable them to participate actively in social and economic development, by providing a comprehensive developmental services package for social security beneficiaries, including psychological, legal and financial consultations, health care, addiction treatment, housing support, vocational guidance programs and skills development appropriate to the labor market, as the clinics provided their services this year to about 89 thousand beneficiaries. He stressed that the system is working to move from support to sustainable empowerment.
In the non-profit sector, His Excellency stated that the number of organizations exceeded 7,000 organizations with a growth rate of 370% compared to 2017, while the number of employees in the sector reached more than 140,000 employees. He pointed out that more than 15,000 fundraising licenses have been issued to 2,700 NGOs since 2022, and they are monitored according to a comprehensive governance to ensure that donations reach their beneficiaries. The value of donations exceeded SAR 12 billion during the year 2024, with an increase of 40% since 2022.
Al-Rajhi added that "Sakhaa" program – launched with an inspiring idea from His Highness the Crown Prince – aims to support the community by adopting sustainable development projects, and investing the value of giving to those who excel to turn it into opportunities that have an extended impact. Its contributions exceeded SAR 13 billion, and it implemented 60 development projects that benefited more than 450,000 beneficiaries, while the number of volunteers reached 1.2 million volunteers, achieving the vision target six years ahead of its time.
Al-Rajhi concluded his speech by stressing that the human resources and social development system will continue to work to achieve the goals of an ambitious homeland, a prosperous economy, and a vibrant society, through an integrated partnership with the government, private, and non-profit sectors to build a brighter future for the youth of the homeland.