The steep price rises of essential commodities and exorbitant increases in house rents are forcing many expatriates to pack their bags and leave the Kingdom for good. The returning expatriates feel that inflationary trends in the Kingdom have reduced their financial prospects, a report published by Al-Jazirah Arabic daily said. Abdul Ghafar, a Sudanese salesman based in Riyadh, said: “Nothing encourages me to stay here for I can get more or less the same salary back home. I need not mention the sacrifice we make by staying away from our loved ones.” A Turkish national working in the foodstuff sector said this would be his last year in the Kingdom. In Riyadh for 16 years, he pointed out that salaries offered in the Kingdom are almost the same as in Turkey. “My income hardly meets my expenses. Another discouraging factor is the rate of exchange of the Saudi riyal in Turkey. I have weighed all the options and now I have decided to migrate to Russia, where the average salary is $1200 a month. Housing, food and air tickets are also provided,” he said. A study on the levels of cost of living and salaries in the Middle East especially in the Gulf showed the gap between the two is widening. The study also emphasized that the rise in the cost of living far exceeded increments in wages. A study conducted by “Bait.Com” which specializes in employment issues in cooperation with the British Yougof Seraj “a market research company” showed that the increase in the cost of living and the falling value of the dollar have generated a feeling of dissatisfaction among foreign workers in the region. The study indicated that many expatriates are exploring job opportunities in new sectors. It said about 45 percent of foreign workers in the Kingdom are thinking about moving to other counties or leaving for home. __
