Saudi Arabia Announces Fresh Minimum Wage Threshold for 2027, Mentions Amount
- Saudi Arabia announced a two-phase increase to the minimum monthly wage threshold under its Nitaqat Saudization programme
- The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development said the decision was announced on October 25, 2026
- Private-sector employers are not required to directly raise Saudi employees' salaries under the new rules
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Saudi Arabia will raise the minimum monthly wage that qualifies a Saudi private-sector worker as fully counted under the Nitaqat Saudization programme, moving the figure from its current level to SR5,000 in April 2027 and then to SR6,000 in April 2028.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development published details of the decision, which was announced on October 25, 2026, and will roll out in two stages, each beginning six months apart.
Source: UGC
What the two phases mean for businesses
The first phase takes effect on April 25, 2027, when the minimum monthly wage threshold for full Saudization compliance will rise to SR5,000. The second phase follows exactly one year later, on April 25, 2028, lifting the threshold further to SR6,000.
The ministry was clear that the change does not oblige private-sector companies to raise their Saudi employees' salaries directly. Instead, the adjustment affects the wage floor used to decide whether a Saudi worker counts fully towards a company's Saudization ratio. Workers who earn below the threshold may no longer be counted in full when a company calculates its compliance with Nitaqat requirements.
Why the phased timeline matters
According to Saudi Gazette, by spacing the two increases roughly a year apart, the government is giving private-sector establishments time to review their workforce arrangements and adjust accordingly before each new threshold comes into force.
The Nitaqat programme, which Saudi Arabia uses to regulate the proportion of Saudi nationals employed in private-sector companies, has long been a central tool in the government's effort to reduce reliance on expatriate labour and expand job opportunities for citizens.
Changes to the wage threshold directly affect how companies calculate their Saudization scores, which in turn determines their access to government services and their ability to hire foreign workers.
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