With more than 221,000 foreign workers having left Saudi Arabia between the fourth quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018, the kingdom's construction sector has been the worst hit owing to the 'mass exodus', said a report.

All sectors saw a drop in the number of foreign workers, with construction losing the biggest number of expats (about 126,000) along with 18,000 Saudi nationals who left the sector in Q1 2018, reported the Saudi Gazette, citing a new labour market report by leading advisory firm Jadwa Investment.

Trade, which includes wholesale and retail activities, came second, losing around 53,000 foreign workers, it stated.

Citing wage data from the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI), the Jadwa update said most of the foreign workers who left the market in Q1 2018 were receiving less than SR1,500 ($400) a month on average. These workers were employed in the construction, trade, education, and agriculture sectors.

“Therefore, we can say that the first wave of foreigners leaving the market have been unskilled, low-wage labour, who have been made redundant by their employer due to rising labour costs through the first round of expat levies,” said the Jadwa report.

The total number of foreigners in the Saudi labour market declined by around 796,000 since the start of 2017, with about 221,000 leaving the market during the first quarter, it added.