The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in 2024: Leadership and Achievements Ahead of Targets

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development achieved a set of qualitative achievements during 2024, which contributed to consolidating the KSA's position in developmental leadership regionally and internationally, and contributed to achieving the targets of Saudi Vision 2030 ahead of their scheduled dates. This reflects the Ministry's essential role in shaping the general policy for labor and workers' laws in the public and private sectors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Ministry works within its vision aimed at creating an empowered vibrant society and an outstanding work environment towards an attractive labor market, and its mission in empowering individuals, society, and institutions in the KSA, enhancing social responsibility, and elevating the labor market by developing policies and legislation, and enabling Ministry employees to provide an exceptional experience for beneficiaries. This supports individuals of all categories at different stages of their lives to ensure a decent life for them, building a stable, balanced, and equitable society, which enhances the comprehensive development process.

In the labor market, the KSA recorded a historic decrease in the overall unemployment rate, which reached 3.3%, ranking fifth among the G20 Countries, while the unemployment rate among Saudis decreased to 7.1%, a level achieved six years ahead of the target in Saudi Vision 2030. Additionally, the number of Saudi employees in the private sector increased to 2.4 million, including 361,000 entering the labor market for the first time. The private sector contributed 50.5% to the employment of citizens, reflecting the success of the Ministry's initiatives in enhancing qualitative localization and raising the percentage of Saudis working in high-skill jobs to 39.6%.

As part of raising the readiness of national cadres, the national training campaign "Waad" provided 1.3 million training opportunities, while the unified national employment platform "Jadarah" offered more than 210,000 vacant job opportunities, with an average of 700 new vacancies daily, contributing to enhancing the empowerment of Saudi competencies at the local and international levels.

The efforts to empower women had a significant impact on enhancing their economic participation, as their participation rate in the labor market increased to 35.8%, exceeding the targets of Saudi Vision 2030. The percentage of women in middle and senior management positions also increased to 43%, reflecting the enhancement of women's status as a key and effective partner in national development in all fields: economic, social, scientific, cultural, and others at all levels.

In a step reflecting the improvement of living standards, the wages of Saudis working in the private sector increased by 45% over the past five years, embodying an increasing appreciation for national competencies and the Ministry's efforts in achieving a balance between improving the work environment and raising productivity.

In terms of social responsibility, the Ministry achieved global progress by ranking 16^th in the Social Responsibility Index according to the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook report, with the percentage of companies' contributions to social spending rising to 4.15%. The private sector contributed more than 4 billion Saudi Riyals through the national social responsibility platform, enabling the launch of initiatives that benefited more than 9 million people in various regions of the KSA.

In supporting the beneficiary groups, the Ministry succeeded in exceeding its targets by providing training and employment opportunities for 120,000 beneficiaries of social security, while the participation rate of persons with disabilities in the labor market reached 13.4%, confirming the Ministry's commitment to empowering various groups and ensuring inclusive development that guarantees their independence and integration as active elements in society. The Ministry provides them with all facilities and tools that help them achieve success and invest their latent energies in line with their abilities and potentials, helping persons with disabilities achieve the highest possible degree of functional effectiveness, enabling them to adapt to the requirements of their natural and social environment, and developing their abilities to rely on themselves and make them productive members of society as much as possible.

In terms of digital transformation, 2024 witnessed remarkable progress, as beneficiary visits to branches decreased by 93% with the increase in automated digital services to 1,000 services, representing 80% of the total services provided. The Ministry aimed to add 300 new services within its strategy to enhance technical efficiency and improve the beneficiary experience.

These efforts were reflected in a series of awards and recognitions that the Ministry received at the local and international levels, most notably the Best Arab Ministry Award for 2024 from the Arab League, the Global BEGA Award (Citizens Impact Award), in addition to achieving first place in the Website Efficiency and Digital Content Index with a performance rate of 95.5%. The Ministry also received the Excellence Certificate in Employing Emerging Technologies and the Creativity Certificate for the "Mowaamah" application dedicated to services for persons with disabilities.

It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development works on 4 main sectors: (Labor Sector, Social Development, Civil Service, and Shared Services), reflecting its pivotal role in providing diverse services to all beneficiaries in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, as a legislative and supervisory body primarily, in addition to its service and supportive role by working with individuals and relevant entities to improve and transform the work environment into an attractive environment with high-quality standards. This is in addition to increasing the participation of Saudis in the labor market and empowering women through initiatives, projects, and programs that contribute to enhancing the efficiency and productivity of the economy, achieving sustainable development, and ensuring a decent life for all through achieving sustainable institutional excellence.