Jobs are back: 54% of UAE employers to hire

More than half (54 per cent) of the region’s employers plan to recruit in the last quarter of this year, according to the new Bayt.com Jobs Index study conducted by the job site in conjunction with research firm YouGov Siraj.

In the UAE, a quarter of the respondents said that their organisations would “definitely” be hiring in the next three months, and another 25 per cent said they would “probably” be hiring. By contrast, one in 10 (11 per cent) said they would definitely not be hiring in the next quarter.

Across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, the countries recorded varying propensities to hire as part of the Jobs Index.

Respondents in Oman had the highest propensity to hire, with 35 per cent saying that their organisations will definitely be recruiting new staff in the coming months while Jordan and Egypt showed the lowest propensity to hire with just 22 per cent of respondents for both countries saying they will definitely hire in the next three months.

The Jobs Index is conducted to gauge perceptions of job availability and hiring, to identify job trends and to provide an understanding of the key skill sets and qualifications required in the Middle East job market.

The survey asked the respondents how many positions their organisations would be aiming to fill in the next three months. For the most part, organisations are looking to recruit staff for less than five positions: 47 per cent said that less than five jobs will be available, and 22 per cent said that between six and 10 jobs will be available.

Interestingly, three per cent of respondents said that they would be looking to fill more than 100 vacancies in the coming quarter.

“The global recession still seems to be affecting parts of the region. Regional companies seem to be maintaining a climate of cost-consciousness and an emphasis on maximising returns on investment specifically in the HR arena,” said Amer Zureikat, Vice-President Sales, Bayt.com.

Of those that are likely to be employed, graduates or postgraduates in business management stand the best chance.

According to the study, 26 per cent of organisations around the Middle East favour employing staff that are qualified in this field. Furthermore, graduates or postgraduates in commerce and administration are equally sought after by the region's organisations, with 24 and 23 per cent of respondents, respectively, citing personnel in these fields as highly desirable.

“The Middle East, and more specifically the Gulf, is growing as a global finance and commerce hub, and as such, graduates in these fields are likely to find it easier than others to find employment,” said Sundip Chahal, COO, YouGov Siraj.

Being able to communicate in both English and Arabic is a desirable trait that employers look for when selecting new staff according to the study – 61 per cent of respondents agreed this is what they look for most in a potential new employee.

Being a cooperative, flexible, and helpful team player is also a clear skill priority among the region's organisations, with 52 per cent stating it is the most desirable trait. Having an agreeable overall personality and demeanour was cited as the most desirable trait by 46 per cent of the survey’s respondents.

“The figures suggest that when recruiting, employers will not immediately choose the most qualified candidate, rather, the region’s organisations place much more emphasis on key skills such as communication and teamwork, and personality traits such as being a good leader,” said Chahal.

The index is in part gauged by asking the respondents what their hiring expectancy is in a year’s time; this forms the Hiring Expectancy Index.

In the long term, 69 per cent of the region’s organisations expect to hire, suggesting widespread optimism for the future. Job seekers in Saudi Arabia are likely to be the luckiest at finding work in a year’s time, with 39 per cent of the country’s respondents stating they will “definitely” be hiring in 12 months' time.

In the UAE, only six per cent said they would probably or definitely not be hiring in a year’s time. By contrast, 27 per cent said they would definitely hire in a year.

Respondents in Algeria were also highly confident that their organisations would be hiring in the future: 36 per cent said they would definitely be hiring after a year. This is contrasted with just 24 per cent of respondents in Morocco and Egypt and 20 per cent in Tunisia – the lowest figure among all of the surveyed countries.

When asked how they rate their current country of residence as a job market compared to those around the rest of the region, respondents in Saudi Arabia, followed by Qatar, were the most positive about their country: 44 and 43 per cent, respectively, said it was much more attractive than other countries. In the UAE, 41 per cent said their country was much more attractive.

The respondents were also asked to name which industries they feel are attracting or retaining top talent in their country of residence today. As in the previous wave, the banking and finance (39 per cent) and telecommunications (39 per cent) sectors took the top spots in terms of those that attract the region’s top employees.

Data for the October 2010 Jobs Index was collected online between September 15 and October 13 with 4,765 executive managers/HR managers/senior officials from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Pakistan.

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