According to the monthly bulletin released by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment (MISA), the Kingdom achieved a surplus of SAR60 billion (approximately $16 billion) in its public budget during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023. This marks a significant improvement compared to the deficit of SAR45.7 billion recorded in the same period the previous year. The surplus can be attributed to a year-on-year decline of 40.7 percent in government expenditures, amounting to approximately SAR215.7 billion ($57.5 billion) in the fourth quarter.
أصدرت #وزارة_الاستثمار النشرة الشهرية لأداء أبرز المؤشرات الاقتصادية والاستثمارية في المملكة لشهر يناير من العام 2024م، لإبقاء شركائنا المستثمرين على اطلاع مستمر.
— وزارة الاستثمار (@MISA) February 6, 2024
In the third quarter (Q3), Saudi Arabia had a deficit of SAR35.7 billion. The country’s full-year surplus for 2023 amounted to SAR16 billion ($4.2 billion), representing a year-on-year improvement.
Read more: Saudi records budget surplus of $39.7 billion in first 9 months of 2022
The bulletin also highlighted that government revenues in the fourth quarter decreased by 13.3 percent compared to the same period a year earlier, amounting to SAR275.7 billion.
Labor market indicators in Q3 2023
In terms of labor market indicators, during Q3 2023, the labor force participation rate among the population increased by 0.1 percentage points to reach 60.9 percent. Similarly, the unemployment rate among Saudis rose by 0.3 percentage points to reach 8.6 percent during the same period.
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