Saudi companies are being encouraged to recruit more Pakistani workers, according to the head of a Pakistani overseas employment firm, in a development that could open fresh job opportunities for thousands hoping to work in the Kingdom. The account comes not from an official Saudi announcement but from conversations between a recruiter and executives at large Saudi firms, and it arrives when Saudi Arabia already employs more Pakistani workers than any other country.
Issam Baig, chairman of Jan Mohammad and Sons, said executives of several major Saudi companies told him during recent visits to Riyadh and Jeddah that the authorities in the Kingdom had asked them to take on more Pakistanis. He was speaking to Arab News, and his remarks were reported by ProPakistani. For families across Pakistan, where a Gulf job can transform household incomes, even an informal signal carries weight, although job seekers should wait for formal, verified vacancies before making plans or paying anyone.
Three or Four Large Companies Carry the Same Message
Baig said three to four major Saudi companies had passed on the same message, which he called a welcome sign for bilateral ties and job seekers. He added a caution of his own: Pakistan must protect that goodwill by sending workers who are properly skilled for the jobs on offer. In his words, the country should uphold the trust placed in it by sending quality manpower.
Recruiters sit between employers abroad and workers at home, so their reports are useful early signals but not the same as a government directive. No Saudi ministry has publicly confirmed a new hiring instruction in the reporting so far, and the companies involved have not been named. That distinction matters, because hopeful applicants are often targeted by fraudsters whenever news of new Gulf openings spreads. Candidates should apply only through licensed overseas employment promoters, check that a job offer and visa are genuine, and never pay large upfront sums on the strength of a rumour.
The emphasis on skilled workers reflects a shift under way for years. Saudi employers once recruited mainly for construction and general labour, but the Kingdom’s changing economy now needs technicians, health workers, engineers, drivers, hospitality staff and information technology specialists as well. Workers with recognised certificates and some experience stand a far better chance of securing and keeping a contract.
Saudi Arabia Remains the Leading Destination
Whatever the status of the latest message from Riyadh, the underlying numbers leave no doubt about Saudi Arabia’s place in Pakistan’s overseas employment story. Figures from the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment show that more than 1.21 million of the 1.87 million Pakistanis who registered for work abroad between January 2024 and September 2026 were headed for the Kingdom, nearly 65 per cent. Registrations for Saudi Arabia rose from 426,951 in 2023 to 452,648 in 2024 and then to 530,437 in 2025. In the first nine months of 2026 alone, a further 258,178 workers registered for jobs there.
In 2025, Pakistan sent 762,499 workers abroad in total, and Saudi Arabia took 530,256 of them, close to 70 per cent. Since the early 1970s, the Kingdom has employed close to eight million Pakistani workers, more than half of everyone Pakistan has ever registered for overseas employment.
The money these workers send home explains why the relationship matters so much to Pakistan’s economy. Overseas Pakistanis sent a record 41.6 billion dollars home in the fiscal year that ended in June 2026, up 8.6 per cent on the previous year, according to central bank data. Workers in Saudi Arabia contributed more than 9.78 billion dollars of that total, ahead of the United Arab Emirates at 8.80 billion dollars, making the Kingdom the single largest source of remittances. Those monthly transfers pay for food, school fees, medical bills and house building, and at the national level they help cover imports and support the rupee.
What It Means for Job Seekers
The broader relationship between Islamabad and Riyadh helps explain why Saudi employers may be looking more favourably on Pakistani workers at this moment. The two countries signed a strategic mutual defence agreement in September 2025, and in October 2026 they agreed to launch an economic cooperation framework to deepen trade and investment ties. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 programme, with its construction projects, new tourist destinations, Expo 2030 and the 2034 football World Cup, continues to generate demand for builders, engineers, technicians and service workers.
None of that guarantees any individual applicant a job, and the coming months will show whether the message Baig reports turns into a visible rise in visas and departures. The registration figures for the final quarter of 2026 will be the first real test, alongside any formal announcements from either government. If demand does rise, Pakistan’s challenge will be to prepare candidates properly, with verified skills and honest recruitment, so that a short-term opening becomes a lasting gain for workers, their families and the economy.
