* Talal Al-Sayah from Riyadh
The number of ICT sector establishments reached 11415 in 2017, compared to 11650 in the previous year 2016, which is registering a decline of 2 per cent, equivalent to 235 establishments.
Despite this decline in the number of establishments, the operating revenues of the sector's establishments grew by 238%, more than the double, from SR 49.67 billion in 2016 to 167.9 billion riyals in 2017.
According to an analysis of the reports unit in the newspaper "AlEqtisadiah" that was based on the results of the annual survey of the sector prepared by the General Authority for Statistics, the rate of settlement of the sector in 2017 was about 64.1 per cent, up from 58.1 per cent in 2016.
The number of Saudis working in the sector are 78,984 thousand in 2017, compared to 53.49 thousand employees in 2016, as it means that the number of Saudis working in the sector increased by 47.7% to 25,496 in 2017.
The number of foreign workers in the sector was reaching 44.28 thousand employees in 2017 compared to 38.52 thousand employees in 2016.
Thus, the total number of "Saudi and foreign" workers in the sector reached 123.27 thousand employees in 2017, compared to 92 thousand employees in 2016.
The number of activities in the sector were 19, as the activity of wireless communications and other activities was the highest in terms of Saudization with a rate of 85.1 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively, in 2017.
While the least activity that settled was the "Telecommunications Equipment Repair" activity was 24.3 per cent, "Software deployment" by 26.3 per cent, "Consumer electronics" activity grew by 26.5 per cent, and the activity of "electronic equipment and communications equipment and their parts in the wholesale" by 26.5 per cent.
In terms of compensation of employees, the value during 2017 was amounted to about 11.46 billion riyals compared to 6.46 billion riyals in 2016, up 77 per cent.
Despite this rise, which is somewhat higher in compensation, but the average compensation per worker increased only 32.4 per cent, equivalent to 1897 riyals per month to 7746 riyals per month in 2017, compared to SR5849 per month in 2016.
According to the analysis, the increase in compensation of workers during 2017 is 77% due to increased employment in the sector as a major reason for the increase in compensation, while the rise in average monthly compensation is the secondary cause of higher compensation.
