Weekly Market Brief – 4/1/2022

Saudi Arabia Macroeconomic Developments

• Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 6.9 percent in Q4 2021, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GAStat). However, unemployment of Saudi nationals fell to 11 percent, down from 11.3 percent in Q3. Male and female labor force participation rose to 66.8 percent and 35.6 percent, respectively.

• Total bank claims on the private sector rose 14.5 percent YoY to SAR2.09 trillion ($555 billion) in February, according to the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). Compared to January, private lending rose 1.7 percent, or SAR35 billion ($9.3 billion).

• Point-of-sale (POS) transactions in Saudi Arabia rose 25 percent YoY in February to reach SAR38.9 billion ($10.4 billion). The number of POS transactions rose 58 percent YoY and the number of POS terminals in the Kingdom rose 43 percent YoY. Compared to January, the value of POS transactions fell 11 percent though the number of operating terminals rose 3 percent.