Saudi companies hire more nationals as expatriate numbers fall, Jisr report

Saudi Arabia’s labour market is expanding at a rapid and increasingly balanced pace, with hiring surging across regions, company sizes and sectors, according to Jisr’s Annual State of Hiring Report 2025–2026, released as the Global Labour Market Conference opens in Riyadh.

Drawing on hiring data from thousands of companies across the Kingdom, the report shows that recruitment activity strengthened sharply through 2025. The key findings from the report shows that average monthly hiring rose 51.5% year on year, increasing from 15,942 new hires per month in 2024 to 24,155 in the first half of 2025. 

And January 2025 marked a standout moment, recording 34,682 new hires, which is a 154.5% increase compared with the same month last year.

While seasonal hiring slowdowns around Ramadan and Eid continue to shape monthly hiring patterns, the overall trajectory remains firmly upward. Hiring typically dips in April, which coincided with Ramadan and Eid holidays in both 2024 and 2025, before rebounding strongly later in the year. 

According to the report, by December 2024, new hires had climbed to nearly 26,000, setting the stage for the record-breaking surge seen at the start of 2025.

Region-wise, the data points to a gradual broadening of growth beyond the capital. Riyadh continues to dominate recruitment, accounting for more than half of all new hires nationwide. 

However, the Eastern Province recorded the fastest growth rate in new hiring at 156%, followed by Makkah at 118%, signalling a more distributed expansion of employment opportunities across the Kingdom.

Looking at the data for company size, mid-sized businesses have emerged as the main engine of job creation. Companies with 21–500 employees generated the largest share of new hires, outpacing both large enterprises and early-stage startups. 

At the same time, large enterprises showed rapid workforce expansion, with employee numbers rising 169% between January 2024 and July 2025, suggesting growing competitive pressure across business segments.

The report also highlights a structural shift toward local talent. Saudi nationals accounted for 41% of all new hires during the study period, and more than half of surveyed companies reported increasing their reliance on domestic talent. 

Nearly 45% of organisations said their foreign workforce had declined over the past two years, while close to 60% of HR leaders expect expatriate numbers to shrink further, with future foreign hiring focused on highly specialised roles.

“Saudi Arabia’s labour market is not just growing, it’s maturing,” said Mohammed Akkar, Founder and CEO of Jisr. “By analysing real hiring behaviour, this report provides a clear view of how economic expansion, regulation and workforce reform are reshaping employment across the Kingdom.”

As hiring momentum continues and workforce planning becomes more data-driven, the findings suggest Saudi Arabia is entering a new phase of labour market development, one defined not only by scale, but by structure, resilience and long-term sustainability.