Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The average monthly wage of Saudi employees increased by 5.7 percent reaching SR10,540 in the fourth quarter of 2020 while compared to SR9,971 in the third quarter of the same year, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).

It was revealed in the estimated data of the authority’s workforce survey issued on Wednesday that the average monthly wage for Saudi men increased to SR10,967 in the fourth quarter of last year as against SR10,382 in the previous quarter, an increase of 5.6 percent. As for Saudi working women, their average monthly wage rose to SR 8,951 during the same period compared to SR8,680 in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of 3.1 percent.

At the same time, the average monthly wage of non-Saudi workers decreased to SR4,078 in the fourth quarter of 2020, against SR4,213 in the previous quarter, a decrease of 3.2 percent. The decrease in the monthly wage of non-Saudi workers led to a decline in the average monthly wage of total Saudi and non-Saudi workers to SR6,564 in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to SR6,601 in the third quarter of 2020, a decrease of 0.6 percent.

GASTAT had earlier announced a drop in the unemployment rate for the total population of Saudis and non-Saudis to 7.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to 8.5 percent in the third quarter of 2020. The unemployment rate for Saudis decreased to 12.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to 14.9 percent in the third quarter of the year.