TALENT DRAIN

Saudi expatriate jobs boom fades as war deepens hiring slump

The shift follows a hiring boom described as 'so intense' recruiters had only months to fill thousands of jobs, often with top salaries and incentives

Jeremy Suyker / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Looking out over the Riyadh skyline

By

Omnia Al Desoukie

September 25, 2026

Saudi Arabia’s expatriate jobs boom is fading as the Iran war compounds Public Investment Fund cutbacks and a broader hiring slowdown, resulting in fewer opportunities and less generous pay packages.

“The war has exacerbated PIF cutbacks,” Mark Butler,...