Under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - may Allah protect him -, His Excellency the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, Engineer Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, participated today, Monday, November 18th, in the 11th Riyadh Economic Forum, in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Bandar, the Governor of Riyadh.
His Excellency Al-Rajhi was received by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Riyadh Chamber, Dr. Abdulmohsen bin Mohammed Al-Marj, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Forum, Dr. Khalid Al-Rajhi, and a number of members of the Board of Directors of the Riyadh Chamber.
His Excellency chaired a dialogue session entitled "Developing Career Quality Practices to Raise Productivity in Saudi Organizations", in the presence of more than 1500 people. The study was presented by the CEO of Tashkeel Management Consultancy Company, Dr. Mishari Al-Shalhoub, and the interviewers, the CEO of Human Resources at Saudi Cruise Company, Eng. Ayman Al-Ghamdi, and the member of the Shura Council, Dr. Ghanim Al-Ghanim.
The dialogue session addressed several topics, including the development of quality of work-life practices to enhance productivity in Saudi organizations, stimulating investment and its governance through policy differentiation between regions, boosting the role of artificial intelligence in national economic development, and maximizing the economic return from natural resources to achieve sustainable development.
His Excellency began his speech by extending a warm welcome to all attendees and expressing his gratitude to the organizers of the forum. He highlighted the significant impact of this forum, which has been presenting crucial economic and developmental studies since 2001. These studies are taken very seriously and provide the best recommendations. He expressed his sincere thanks to everyone involved in this forum, which is rich in benefits, research, and in-depth studies.
His Excellency Al-Rajhi reviewed the most prominent achievements related to the labor market and Saudi Vision 2030, affirming the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development's continued pursuit of its ambitious goals in accordance with the labor market strategy and Saudi Vision 2030. The positive results of these efforts have been evident in both the social and economic spheres, enhancing the Kingdom's prestigious global standing. He commended the labor market strategy for charting a roadmap for fundamental reforms in both the public and private sectors of the labor market, aimed at increasing the economic participation rate of citizens, enhancing the skills of the national workforce, increasing productivity, improving labor market efficiency, and reducing unemployment rates, among other historic achievements in this field.
His Excellency Al-Rajhi highlighted the most prominent figures that the Ministry has succeeded in achieving, noting that the overall unemployment rate decreased to 3.3% in the second quarter of 2024 compared to 5.6% in the second quarter of 2019. He indicated that the unemployment rate for Saudis reached 7.1% in the second quarter of 2024 compared to 12.3% in the same period of 2019, affirming an increase in the number of Saudi employees in the private sector to 2.34 million, a 35% increase compared to 1.7 million in 2019. The overall economic participation rate also increased from 57.9% in 2019 to 66.2% in 2024, while the participation of Saudi males increased from 45% in 2019 to 50.8% in 2024, and the participation of Saudi females increased from 23.2% in 2019 to 35.4% in 2024. The overall Saudi participation increased from 66% in 2019 to 66.3% in 2024. Additionally, private sector establishments achieved an 87.6% compliance rate with the Wage Protection System in 2023 (the target was 75.5%), while 71.27% of establishments adhered to occupational safety and health standards in the first quarter of 2024.
His Excellency mentioned a number of achievements that the Kingdom has made at the international level, highlighting its progress in international indicators for 2023. These include a 23-place jump in the labor regulations index to reach the 22nd global position, a 22-place advancement in the skilled labor index to occupy the 19th global position, an 18-place improvement in the labor productivity index to reach the 11th global position, and reaching the 15th global position in the "equal pay for equal work" index.
It is worth noting that this study addressed a number of topics, including improving the quality of work life and its impact on organizational productivity. It aims to analyze the relationship between quality of work life and organizational performance, within the framework of its interest in providing scientific insights to support national goals, as part of the National Transformation Program and the Kingdom's Vision 2030. The study also seeks to develop strategies for improving the work environment in both the public and private sectors, while providing recommendations to enhance the quality of work life in order to achieve sustainable development goals.
