Kuwait’s non-oil sector ends 2025 on strong note as PMI and jobs accelerate
S&P Global reported a further strengthening of Kuwait’s non-oil private sector in December, with the Purchasing Managers’ Index rising to 54 points, driven by surging new orders, rising employment and record business optimism heading into 2026.
Standard & Poor’s Global (S&P Global) has revealed that Kuwait’s main Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed to 54 points in December, up from 53.4 in November, signaling a robust improvement in the non-oil private sector for the sixteenth consecutive month.
In its latest report, S&P Global noted that production levels in Kuwait recorded their fastest growth in seven months by the end of 2025, supported by a strong rise in new product orders.
Non-oil companies also expressed growing confidence in production growth during 2026, with business optimism reaching its highest level in two years and the strongest reading since the survey began. This confidence was attributed to active marketing strategies and expectations of sustained improvement in customer demand, reports Al-Rai daily.
The report showed that the sharp rise in new orders prompted companies to increase hiring for the tenth consecutive month, with the rate of job creation reaching its fastest pace since last June, albeit remaining moderate overall.
However, S&P Global pointed out that the increase in staffing was insufficient to absorb the surge in workloads, leading to a significant accumulation of outstanding business at the fastest rate since records began in September 2018.
S&P Global added that marketing campaigns and the launch of new products were among the key drivers of growth, while companies offering high-quality products at competitive prices were particularly successful in securing new business.
New orders rose for the 35th consecutive month in December, with the pace of expansion accelerating to its fastest since May 2025. The growth in total new business was supported by a strong increase in new export orders, as more companies turned to neighboring markets and expanded cross-border activity.
The agency said that rising customer demand led companies to increase purchasing activity and build inventories, although growth rates were slightly below the record levels seen in November 2024.
Supplier performance improved markedly, with delivery times falling significantly as suppliers responded effectively to higher demand. Competitive pressures were also cited as a factor behind the improvement in supplier efficiency.
S&P Global warned that inflationary pressures intensified in December, as sharp increases in purchase prices and staff costs drove the fastest rise in output prices since March 2024.
Higher costs were recorded across a wide range of items, most notably machinery, marketing, printing, spare parts and transportation.
Several companies reported that staff costs rose due to new hiring, while both purchase prices and labour costs increased at their highest rates in six and seven months respectively.
