Employment at record pace in Kuwait
Operations and sales drive Saudi growth
Employment growth has accelerated in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar despite economic uncertainty, but hiring momentum remains uneven in other Mena markets, according to the latest purchasing managers’ index surveys.
In Saudi Arabia, job creation was “one of the fastest seen in over a decade” in May, the Riyad Bank PMI report said.
The Saudi index’s seasonally adjusted headline figure stood at 55.8 last month, up from 55.6 in April. This is well above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction, but below January’s peak of 60.5.
“Hiring momentum remained strong as companies expanded teams to support output growth, particularly in operations and sales,” said Naif Al Ghaith, chief economist at Riyad Bank.
The uptick comes despite the International Monetary Fund trimming its 2025 growth forecast for Saudi Arabia to 3 percent, citing falling oil prices and escalating trade risks. Oil prices could decline by more than 15 percent this year and by nearly 7 percent in 2026, the IMF has warned.
In Kuwait, employment increased at the fastest pace in its PMI survey’s history. “Higher new orders and a desire to complete projects in a timely manner led companies to increase their staffing levels for the third consecutive month in May,” said Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The PMI headline rate dipped to 53.9 from 54.2 in April.
The Qatar PMI for May also recorded employment increasing at one of the fastest rates in its history. Businesses also raised input buying to replenish inventories.
The headline figure was 50.8, little-changed from 50.7 in April.
Elsewhere in the region, sentiment was weaker. Turkey’s PMI stood at 47.2, reflecting its sixth consecutive monthly decline in manufacturing employment. The country has also recorded its worst quarterly growth since the pandemic.
In Egypt, the PMI rose to 49.5 from 48.5, but staffing levels fell for a fourth month as businesses scaled back purchases and hiring.
“A number of surveyed firms continued to report softness in market demand,” said David Owen, senior economist at S&P Global.
