Lakhasly

compared with a decline of 0.7% in the same period last year. Most increases were in tobacco (the highest by an average of 28.4%), transport, hotels, restaurants and food and beverage categories. The recreation and culture sectors increased slightly. Clothing and footwear declined by an average of 7.7%.
Inflation rates in 2018 were largely influenced by various supply and demand factors and a series of economic and fiscal reforms and compensational initiatives, most importantly energy prices reforms, VAT application, the Citizen Account launch, the reinstate of allowances and the provision of cost of living allowance for this year.
The increase in economic activity led to a reduction in the
unemployment rate for Saudis. The unemployment rate was recorded
at 12.3% at the end of first half of FY2019, a decline of 0.4 percentage
points compared to the end of FY2018.
Lending to the private sector confirms the continued recovery of
economic activity. Total lending to the private sector registered annual
growth of 4.2% through October FY2019, compared to -1.6% and
1.6% during the same periods in FY2017 and FY2018, respectively.
The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) stood at 58.3 points at the
end of November FY2019, its highest level in four years, confirming
improvement in private sector activity and confidence among non-oil
private sector firms towards future output.
CPI) (inflation)1 recorded 6.0% during Q3 2020. This exceptional increase in inflation during the period is a result of the increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) rate and customs duty on some products levied at the beginning of Q3. Most categories witnessed an increase, especially Food and Beverages, which recorded the highest increase of 13.5% compared to 6.5% in the same period in 2019. Education recorded a decrease by about 2.0% in Q3 2020, compared to the same quarter last year, with the continuation of distance learning. Since the beginning of 2020 until October, inflation recorded 3.0%, compared to a decline by 2.4% during the same period last year. The increase was the highest in Food and Beverages by 8.2%, compared to 2.0% in the same period in 2019. On the other hand, prices of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other Fuels have continued to decline, albeit at a slower pace to record an annual decrease of 0.5% in 2020, compared to a decrease of 9.2% in the same period in 2019. And because of the Corona virus conditions, Saudi unemployment rates
has increased to reach 15.4%, during Q2 2020.