Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments
- Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 percent in the third quarter of 2024, down 0.5 percentage points from last year. Labor force participation across Saudis and non-Saudis reached 66.6 percent during the third quarter, reflecting a YoY increase of 0.2 percentage points and a quarterly rise of 0.4 percentage points.
- Saudi banks issued SAR10.06 billion ($2.7 billion) in new residential mortgages in November, a 51.23 percent increase YoY. Houses accounted for the majority of loans at SAR6.5 billion ($1.73 billion), or 65 percent, followed by apartments at 31 percent and land purchases at 4 percent.
- Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center concluded its riyal-denominated sukuk issuance for December, raising SAR11.59 billion ($3.09 billion). This marks a substantial 239.88 percent increase MoM, when the Kingdom raised SAR3.41 billion ($909 million) in sukuk.
