Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) announced that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for May 2025 revealed the Kingdom’s annual inflation rate remained relatively stable at 2.2 percent compared to the same month last year.
Saudi Arabia continues to record one of the lowest inflation rates among G20 countries, Saudi News Agency (SPA) reported.
The CPI measures changes in the prices paid by consumers for a fixed basket of goods and services comprising 490 items. This basket was selected based on the 2018 Household Income and Expenditure Survey. Prices are collected through field visits to points of sale, and the CPI statistics are published monthly.
Read more: Rising food, education costs propel Saudi Arabia inflation to 2.3 percent in March
Employment figures continue to rise
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector activity expansion slowed in April as growth in new orders decelerated sharply, even as hiring rates reached their joint-fastest pace in more than a decade.
The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slid to 55.6 in April, the lowest reading since last August, from 58.1 in March, while remaining firmly in growth territory.
The slowdown in new order growth reflected global economic uncertainties and competitive pressures, with the new order subindex slipping for the third consecutive month to 58.6 in April from 63.2 in March.
“While output growth remains robust, it is somewhat tempered by global economic uncertainties and competitive pressures affecting client spending,” Naif Al-Ghaith, Riyad Bank’s chief economist said. “Nonetheless, employment figures continue to climb, indicating a sustained growth trend since last May.”
The increase in employment was driven by rising sales and business activity, with firms expanding staffing capacity to meet demand. However, the degree of business optimism remained weaker than the long-run survey average, the survey showed. Saudi Arabia’s economy grew 2.7 percent in the first quarter, supported by activity in the non-oil sector as the kingdom pushes ahead with diversifying away from hydrocarbons.
