Dubai: The outlook for job opportunities in the coming months is an optimistic one, as a new survey has revealed that more than half of employers are planning to hire new staff in the next three months.
"The Middle East's hiring outlook is looking quite positive, with 64 per cent of employed respondents planning to hire in the next three months; 40 per cent of whom will be hiring for up to five jobs,” said Suhail Masri, Vice President of Employer Solutions at Bayt.com.
The survey, conducted by Bayt.com and YouGov, indicated that the majority of hires will take place in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan – and that their hiring intentions will take place from three months to one year from now.
Data for the Bayt.com Middle East Job Index survey was collected online between June and August 2016, with a total of 2,001 online interviews conducted with respondents from across 14 countries, including the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.
According to the recent Middle East Job Index survey, the data also revealed that the majority of employers across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region intend to hire soon, with 64 per cent of them planning to hire in the next three months.
Hiring intentions in the next three months are the highest in North Africa at 69 per cent, followed by the GCC at 65 per cent and the Levant at 62 per cent.
"The increase in the hiring expectancy throughout the MENA region is a positive reflection on the economy as a whole,” said Joao Neves, Senior Research Director, YouGov.
“By gauging the perceptions when it comes to the MENA's job market, we can deduce that the private sector is expected to offer the most employment options in the next few months and be the driving force of job growth in the region,” he said.
Private sector companies have the highest intention of hiring, with 70 per cent of multinational companies, 69 per cent of large local companies and 63 per cent of small or medium-sized local companies, “definitely” or “probably” hiring.
“It is also interesting to note that employers place the greatest emphasis on language skills, particularly English and Arabic," said Neves.
Top sectors with job opportunities
When it comes to hiring by industry over the next three months, organisations in the banking/ finance industry present the highest intention to hire at 74 per cent, followed by the hospitality/ recreation/ entertainment at 73 per cent, and the telecommunications industry at 71.
On the other hand, government/civil service have the lowest intention to hire in the same period at 58 per cent.
Among those who plan to hire in the next three months, 40 per cent indicate that they will be hiring for a maximum five jobs. As many as 87 per cent of GCC companies seem to be hiring for more jobs compared to the Levant at 77 per cent and North Africa at 82 per cent.
In addition, the survey also revealed that a majority of MENA companies hiring in the next three months are looking to fill junior and mid-level positions.
Graduate degrees in business management and engineering were also the most sought-after academic qualifications in the MENA region, at 28 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.
