UAE jobs and salaries set to grow faster in 2014: Survey

According to GulfTalent’s report, the UAE has further strengthened its position as the prime destination for expatriates in the GCC.  Companies across the GCC are expected to hire more staff than they did in 2013, a recent survey by online recruitment firm GulfTalent has revealed. The 2014 edition of “Employment and Salary Trends in the Gulf” revealed that 2014 will be a year of stronger employment growth and higher salary rises. The report showed that Saudi Arabia was the leader in job creation in 2013, with 62 per cent of companies increasing their headcount last year. The kingdom was followed by the UAE and Kuwait. GulfTalent’s survey also found that across the GCC, more companies expect to increase their headcount in 2014 compared with last year, with 75 per cent of companies in Qatar to create jobs this year. The positive development is primarily due to the execution of major infrastructure projects gathering momentum, partly in preparation for the 2022 Fifa World Cup. This is followed by companies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with 63 per cent and 57 per cent of companies looking to create jobs, respectively. Even companies in Bahrain are showing signs of improvement in job creation as the political situation stabilises further: 30 per cent of companies expect to increase their headcount, compared with only nine per cent in 2013. Broken down into sectors, healthcare topped the table with 80 per cent of companies having created jobs in 2013, driven by heavy government investment in the sector and more countries making health insurance mandatory for employers. According to the survey, telecom and retail sectors competed for second position. Hospitality and retail will dominate job growth in 2014, with 61 per cent of companies in the hospitality sector planning to increase their headcount. Fifty-seven per cent of firms in the retail sector will create jobs, driven by the region’s rapid population growth and increasing penetration of retail outlets in more remote locations. Across most of the GCC, private-sector salaries are forecast to rise at a faster pace in 2014 compared with the previous year. Oman, where employees are expected to enjoy an average pay increase of eight per cent, leads the field. Saudi Arabia has the second-highest rate with a projected average increase of 6.8 per cent, followed by Qatar at 6.7 per cent and the UAE at 5.9 per cent. Kuwait and Bahrain are forecast to have the region’s lowest salary increases — projected at 5.8 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively. While the salary increases are higher than the previous year, they continue to be below the levels seen before the global financial crisis. According to GulfTalent’s report, the UAE has further strengthened its position as the prime destination for expatriates in the GCC. Optimism about the country’s future has increased following Dubai’s economic recovery and successful bid for hosting the 2020 Expo. Expatriates also continue to value the UAE’s stability, especially as parts of the wider region remain plagued by tensions. Not surprisingly, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the region’s most-attractive cities, followed by Qatar’s capital, Doha. Bahrain, on the other hand, remains the least-attractive destination for expatriates. Khaleej Times