RIYADH: A Ministry of Labor report has shown that the average monthly salary in the private sector dropped by 26 percent in 2009 to less than SR1,000, compared to SR1,335 in 2008. The monthly average salary of males declined by 27 percent (or SR1,000) and by 11 percent (or SR1,675) for females compared to the previous year, the report showed. It also showed that private sector employees totaled about 6.9 million in 2009, an increase of 10 percent over 2008. Saudis constitute only 10 percent of this total, the report added. Recent statistics showed the Kingdom's foreign workers' financial transfers outside the country increased by 12 percent in 2009, opposed to decreased foreign workers' transfers in other Gulf Council Countries.
