Saudi Arabia Is Hiring at Speed. The Next Edge Is Keeping.

What happens when a whole country sets out to develop its people at once? Saudi Arabia is finding out, and the numbers are worth a close look. Employers are hiring at speed, and 93% report that skills are still catching up.¹

In the Hays Salary Guide 2026, 28% of employers expect to grow their teams by more than 10% this year. Riyadh draws the largest share of recruitment activity (69%), ahead of Jeddah (43%) and the Eastern Province (37%).¹

Employers in the same guide name three causes of the skills gap: education that does not yet match industry needs (35%), pay below expectations (35%) and strong competition for talent (33%). They respond in two directions: 41% look for fresh talent, and 36% put upskilling of current staff first. Two thirds (66%) now offer internal training, and 52% give access to online learning platforms.¹

The labor market supplies more people to train. According to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), unemployment among Saudi nationals stood at 6.4% in the first quarter of 2026.² It was 6.5% in the second quarter.³ Among Saudi women it was 9.0% in the first quarter. The Vision 2030 target of 7% was reached ahead of schedule. Among Saudis aged 15 to 24, unemployment stood at 13.8% for men and 20.4% for women in the first quarter.²

Saudization points the same way. Since April 22, 2026, a phased rule covers 41 tourism professions, four of them reserved in full for Saudi nationals and others in part.⁴ That puts leadership development for first-time managers high on the agenda.

AI adds a second dimension. In the Hays survey, 58% of professionals use AI regularly and 86% want to learn more, while 19% of employers provide full training.¹ The state is building the foundation: HUMAIN, the AI company owned by the Public Investment Fund, develops Arabic language models, and Amazon Web Services has committed to train 100,000 Saudis in cloud computing and generative AI.⁵

In my experience, young Saudi professionals increasingly seek leadership responsibility, autonomy and tangible impact alongside compensation. Careers accelerate, and responsibility can arrive before experience. That opens a gap between newly appointed leaders and the senior executives expected to guide them. Recruitment fills the roles. Closing the gap takes tailored coaching for young managers and tools for the executives around them to delegate, mentor and develop the next generation.

Companies I work with across sectors often ask for help with onboarding new leaders and embedding AI in everyday workflows. The larger long-term payoff comes from keeping the talent they develop and building organizational capability through continuous learning.

This shift at the company level mirrors a broader evolution of national policy. Saudization was once seen mainly as a compliance task. It has become a strategic opportunity to build a local leadership pipeline, and organizations can now turn that momentum into workplaces where people want to stay, contribute and grow.

Developing talent creates potential; retaining it creates competitive advantage. As state initiatives and national AI investments widen the talent pool, Saudi Arabia's next competitive edge will depend on how effectively companies turn emerging talent into experienced leaders, institutional knowledge and sustainable business performance. The Kingdom shows how state ambition, technology investment and corporate execution can turn workforce strategy into a national growth engine.

Nader Kashgari is Managing Director at Alethea, a specialized advisory firm in the Middle East. He is also a Solutions Partner at the Autoris Leadership Institute. In The Times of Talent, he covers topics around leadership and talent development in the Arab world. He splits his time between Munich and the Middle East.

¹ Hays. (2026). Hays Saudi Arabia salary guide 2026. Hays plc. https://www.hays.ae/salary-guide/saudi-arabia-salary-guide

² General Authority for Statistics. (2026). Labor force survey, Q1 2026. As reported by Arab News. https://www.arabnews.pk/node/2649072

³ General Authority for Statistics. (2026). Labor force survey, Q2 2026. As reported by Saudi Gazette. https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/saudi-arabias-unemployment-rate-drops-to-6.5-in-q2-2026-1459142

⁴ Gulf News. (2025). Saudisation: Full list and timeline of 41 tourism jobs. https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/saudi-arabia-reveals-full-list-and-timeline-for-saudisation-of-41-tourism-roles-1.500102061

⁵ Amazon Web Services & HUMAIN. (2025). AI Zone announcement. Amazon. https://press.aboutamazon.com/2025/5/aws-and-humain-announce-groundbreaking-ai-zone-to-accelerate-ai-adoption-in-saudi-arabia-and-globally