Saudi Arabia raises minimum wage thresholds to SR5,000 in 2027 and SR6,000 in 2028
Saudi staff must earn SR6,000 from April 2028 to count fully towards private-sector quotas
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia will raise the monthly salary threshold for Saudi private-sector employees to count fully towards companies' Saudisation targets to SR5,000 in April 2027 and SR6,000 a year later, under changes to the Kingdom's Nitaqat programme, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced that the new requirements would be introduced in two phases, giving private-sector employers time to prepare.
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The first phase will take effect on April 25, 2027, six months after the decision was announced on October 25, 2026. From that date, a Saudi employee must earn at least SR5,000 a month to be counted as one full worker towards an employer's Saudisation requirements.
The threshold will rise again to SR6,000 on April 25, 2028, under the second phase.
The ministry clarified that the changes do not require businesses to automatically increase the salaries of Saudi employees.
Instead, the new thresholds determine whether employees qualify to be counted in full when calculating the proportion of Saudi nationals employed by private-sector establishments under the Nitaqat programme.
The phased implementation is intended to give employers sufficient time to adjust to the revised requirements.
