3.5 million cadres in the real estate sector
Abdulaziz Al-Issa
The real estate sector is no longer treated as an economic activity for trading and exchanging benefits, but has become a key pillar of the economy. Labor force The number of workers in the (real estate and construction) sectors together reached 3.5 million as of the second quarter of 2025, this huge number recorded a significant annual growth of 18.7%, indicating the increasing activity and continuous demand in this vital market. While the percentage of Saudis employed in the two sectors reached 13.5%, real estate activities alone show a positive breakdown, with the number of participants on the job reaching 57.136 thousand workers by the end of Q2 2025, a growth of 5.8%, with an Emiratization rate of 38.8%, and on economic indicators, the sector's contribution to GDP reached 13.8%.
The strength and size of the sector is formed based on a set of critical determinants, most notably the strength of supply and demand, the economic situation and the availability of real estate financing and its conditions, in addition to the strength and governance of regulations and legislation that play a key role in stabilizing the market, not to mention that the sector has made great strides in digitizing its transactions.
The strength and robustness of the Saudi real estate sector is evident not only in the economic figures and its significant contribution to the GDP, but also in the size of the manpower working in it. These huge numbers of workers in real estate and construction activities constitute the main pillar on which development projects and the future vision are built. With the continued growth in Emiratization efforts and the trend towards thoughtful specialization or fruitful diversification.
As for the business strategy that led to this success, according to the survey conducted by Amlak in this issue, the preference between specializing or combining activities was determined based on the size of the business. Specializing in one activity is the best option for startups and small businesses, as it builds deep expertise and raises the quality of service. On the other hand, combining several activities suits large companies with a strong organizational structure, as it gives them greater integration and the ability to control the full investment cycle.
