Ekrami Abdullah from Riyadh
Revenues (sales) of wholesale and retail companies operating in Saudi Arabia increased during the past year by 4.3 percent, or 25.6 billion riyals, to reach about 622 billion riyals, compared to 596.3 billion riyals in 2018.
The wholesale and retail trade sector is divided into three main activities: vehicle sale and repair, wholesale trade, and retail trade.
According to the monitoring unit of the reports in the "Al-Iqsadiya" newspaper, based on official data, the increase in the total revenues of the sector is mainly due to the increase in the revenues of wholesale trade activity, which rose by about 11 billion riyals, to 229.6 billion riyals in 2019 compared to 218.6 billion riyals in 2018, a rate of increase 5 percent.
Vehicle sales and repair activity increased by 8.75 billion riyals (6.1 percent), to 151.8 billion riyals in 2019, compared to 143 billion riyals in 2018.
The retail trade activity also increased by 5.9 billion riyals (2.5 percent), to reach 240.6 billion riyals in 2019 compared to 234.7 billion riyals in 2018.
The retail trade activity accounted for 39 percent of the sector's total revenue during the past year, while the wholesale trade activity accounted for 37 percent, and the sale and repair of vehicles 24 percent.
The number of workers in the sector at the end of the fourth quarter of 2019 was about 1.94 million workers, distributed among 78 percent of non-Saudis with 1.51 million workers, and 22 percent of Saudis with 431 thousand workers.
The number of workers in the sector decreased by 1.4 percent (about 27.6 thousand workers) during the fourth of 2019, as they numbered 1.97 million workers by the end of the third quarter of 2019.
The decline came due to a decrease in the number of non-Saudi workers 2.1 percent (31.8 thousand workers), to 1.51 million workers by the end of the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to 1.54 million workers by the end of the third quarter of the same year.
While the number of Saudi workers increased by 1 percent (4.16 thousand workers), to reach 431.9 thousand employees by the end of the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to 426.73 thousand workers by the end of the third quarter of the same year.
The average monthly compensation paid to workers during the fourth quarter of last year, 2340 riyals, at a rate of 2414 riyals in the activity of selling and repairing vehicles, 2403 riyals in the wholesale trade activity, and 2298 riyals in the retail trade activity.
The percentage of electronic sales during the fourth quarter of last year was 0.44% in the activity of selling and repairing vehicles, 1.58% in the wholesale trade activity, and 3.48% in the retail trade activity.
