DUBAI:  Unemployment in Saudi Arabia fell in the third quarter of 2020 to 14.9% from 15.4% in the second quarter, official data in the world's biggest oil exporter showed on Friday.

The government has been pushing through economic policies since 2016 to create millions of jobs and reduce unemployment to 7% by 2030. The plans have been disrupted by the coronavirus crisis that sent oil prices plummeting in 2020.

"The impact of COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the Saudi labour market and the economy," the General Authority for Statistics said.

It said total participation in the labour market was 59.5% in the three months from July to September, rising 0.1 percentage points from the second quarter.

 

(Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Edmund Blair) ((Yousef.Saba@thomsonreuters.com; +971562166204))