The Labor Ministry gave SR1.5 billion to 88,000 private companies in 2013 to compensate for salary increments among their Saudi employees, said Labor Minister Adel Fakeih in a message on his Twitter account.

He said 88,000 firms deserved the compensation, adding that 70 percent of the amount went to small and medium-sized enterprises.

An official from the Human Resource Development Fund disclosed his organization’s plan to provide an allowance up to SR24,000 for new job seekers, adding that the amount would be given in four installments within a maximum of 24 months.

Meanwhile, the Labor and Interior Ministries continued their joint campaign to track down violators of labor and residency regulations and create more job opportunities for Saudis.

The Interior Ministry said it has already deported 427,000 illegal foreign workers to their respective countries during the past six months.

“We will not show any leniency toward those who do not abide by the Kingdom’s regulatioins,” said a ministry official.

According to statistics issued by the Command and Control Center, 12,635 violators still await completion of official procedures for deportation.

Lt. Col. Ahmed Al-Laheedan, spokesman of the Passport Department, said procedures for the deportation of labor and residency rule violators would not take more than one day.