PHOTO
Women in Saudi Arabia are more career-focused than men, according to a new LinkedIn report, which further cites that jobs in the healthcare and information technology (IT) sectors are booming.
According to the findings by the business and employment-focused social media platform, 61% of women in the kingdom were making career moves in 2024, compared to men (57%), with 39% citing a desire for better pay, while another 34% were in search of a better work-life balance as opposed to men (30%).
Another 57% of women in Saudi Arabia stated that satisfaction in their current job was the main reason for not wanting to look for a new one, while men said that their main reason to stay in a place depended on salary and benefits (52%).
As many as 2.3 million Saudi nationals joined the private sector in December, official data showed, of which 40.82% were females.
LinkedIn data also revealed a positive outlook for the Saudi labour market in 2024, with 78% stating they felt confident about searching for a new job.
Jobs in demand
According to the findings of the professional network’s annual ‘Jobs on the Rise’ list in Saudi Arabia, which highlights the fastest-growing roles in the country, patient care technicians in the healthcare sector were the most sought-after workers.
This comes as no surprise with data from the US-based International Trade Administration revealing that the kingdom currently accounts for 60% of the GCC healthcare expenditure.
In 2023, Saudi was poised to spend $50.4 billion on healthcare and social development – 16.96% of its 2023 budget and the second largest line item, along with education. The Saudi Arabian government has also been targeting the healthcare sector for privatisation.
Information System Analysts were also in demand in the Saudi labour market, according to LinkedIn, along with BIM (Building Information Modelling) coordinators as the kingdom is also amid a construction boom with giga tourism projects such as NEOM and the Red Sea under way.
The demand for skilled professionals has also seen an uptick in the hiring of human resource professionals and talent acquisition specialists.
Other in-demand roles include environmental specialists, partnerships specialists, project managers, legal experts, and content creators.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Daniel Luiz)
