Saudi budget: State employee compensations account for 49% of expenditures within 6 months

The quarterly report on the performance of the Saudi budget during the second quarter of this year revealed that government employee compensation acquired about 49% of the total Saudi budget expenditures during the first half of this year, with a total of SR 251.1 billion, an increase of 2% over the same period last year.

Compensation for state employees are the rewards, in cash or other, payable to the employee in exchange for work performed. In addition to wages and salaries, it includes the social security contributions, which are paid by the workers’ compensation units from the public government bodies on behalf of its employees, and it excludes any compensation for the self-employed capitalists.

According to the report, the first quarter of this year witnessed spending of SR 125.2 billion on compensation for state employees, while the second quarter witnessed spending of SR 125.9 billion, or a total of SR 251.1 billion during the first half of this year.

The data show that the state’s spending on goods and services increased significantly during the first half of this year to reach SR 97.2 billion, compared to SR 73.1 billion for the same period last year, an increase of 33%.

The data show that the second quarter of this year is the quarter that witnessed a jump in government spending on the goods and services it uses, as its spending on this item amounted to about 65.3 billion riyals, an increase of 44% over the same period last year, in which it did not exceed 45.53 billion riyals.

Government use of goods and services is the total value of goods and services purchased by the public government sector for use in the production process or acquired for resale minus the net change in inventories and use of goods and services from those goods and services.

The data show an increase of 20% in government spending on subsidies during the first half of this year to record SR 11.6 billion, compared to SR 9.7 billion for the same period last year, which shows the state’s obligation to calculate the citizen and support the eligible groups.