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Recruitment activity in the UAE has surged by 33 per cent in the past 12 months, according to the monthly Monster Employment Index, which tracks online job posting activity across 12 key industry sectors in the six GCC nations and Egypt.
According to the latest June edition of the Monster Index, the UAE leads the region in the increase it witnessed in online job opportunities, growing by a third, or 33 per cent, between June 2011 and June 2012. The UAE is followed by online job postings in Kuwait (up by 30 per cent year-on-year) and Qatar (23 per cent).
The overall Index, including the seven nations it covers, witnessed a growth of 39 per cent on an annual basis, but the growth was hampered by Saudi Arabia, which saw an anaemic increase of just 2 per cent in online job opportunities over the past 12 months.
The rest of the countries all saw double-digit growth in online job prospects, with Egypt growing at 15 per cent, Bahrain witnessing an increase of 18 per cent, and online job opportunities in Oman going up by a fifth, or 20 per cent over the past 12 months.
But while composite national and regional numbers look impressive, what do they say for the prospects of the individual, and are we any better placed for that elusive pay-hike and promotion this year?
The Haves…
For workers in the UAE’s – as well as the region’s – hospitality industry, that is definitely the case, with online job advertisements across the seven markets up a massive 52 per cent year-on-year. Simple demand and supply economics dictate that when demand for talent goes up, so do pay-packages.
The growth in vacancies in hotels and cafés has been the most prominent in Saudi Arabia, where a number of new hotel are being launched, adding to the demand for hospitality personnel. The Monster Index for Saudi Arabia shows a staggering 75 per cent increase in online job postings within this sector, highlighting the growth that it is witnessing.
In the UAE too, hospitality job postings top the growth industries chart, growing by 35 per cent in the past year. While that number may seem moderate relative to Saudi Arabia’s 75 per cent surge, it is impressive nevertheless, considering the already huge number of hotels and serviced apartments across all emirates of the UAE – especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The increase in Saudi may also be seasonal, with hotels in the country staffing up during the ongoing holy month of Ramadan to cater to the increased inflow of religious tourists.
Employees in retail, trade and logistics may also expect their salaries to go up imminently as the sector has seen advertised vacancies go up by 46 per cent in the past 12 months. For the hundreds of thousands of workers manning retail outlets in the hundreds of malls in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, that is good news indeed.
The production/manufacturing, automotive and ancillary sector follows, with a 41 per cent growth in job prospects. This would mean that factory workers and those working in the auto industry can expect a sizeable bump in their pay-packages this year.
Engineering, construction and real estate follow next, with job prospects in the sector improving by more than a quarter (27 per cent year-on-year). The real estate and construction sector has had a remarkable turnaround after crashing in end-2008, and the Monster Index shows that the industry is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the economic revival over the past 12 months.
Pay-hikes may also be on the cards for those in the education sector – teachers – as the sector saw an increase of 19 per cent in advertised job opportunities over the past year.
And the Have-Nots…
While online job opportunities increased in all the 12 sectors across the seven markets tracked by Monster, the least increase was witnessed by the BFSI sector (banking, financial services and insurance), which saw advertised opportunities go up by a meagre 3 per cent. No prizes for guessing, then, that bankers must still lie low and that, if you’re one, barging into your boss’ room to demand a pay-hike since you haven’t got one in years may not be such a good idea this year, too.
Oil and gas is neck-and-neck with BFSI in terms of job prospects, with online adverts looking to personnel to work in the sector up by 3 per cent – the same as BFSI. So, ditto on the advice.
Healthcare was the next ‘worse’ sector for job opportunities, with online adverts looking for doctors and nurses up 10 per cent over the past 12 months. The double-digit growth may not necessarily be bad standalone, but in the context of the larger growth across other sectors, it still rounds up the bottom three sectors.
Those working in the ‘chemicals/ plastic/ rubber, paints, fertilizer/ pesticides’ sector can also expect stagnant pay-packages this year, with online job opportunities up 14 per cent last year.
Rounding up the bottom five sectors in terms of job prospects is the advertising, market research, public relations, media and entertainment sector – in which yours truly labours. So while you may expect a decent pay-hike this year (if you’re lucky to be working in one of those high-growth industries), I am not holding my breath for a major salary rise this year. Or should I?
And have you seen, or are expecting, a serious pay-hike this year because of the increase in demand for talent? Is your employer recognising - financially or in kind - your contribution to the company's growth? Or is your firm still ignoring it? Let us know via comments below.
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