Dubai: There are fewer companies in the UAE and the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region who are preparing to lay off their staff this year, research from a recruitment specialist suggests.
In a survey among 800 employers across the GCC, it was found that only 23 per cent of organisations are reducing their headcounts in 2017, a decline from 40 per cent in 2016- leading to the conclusion that the employment situation is improving.
In the UAE, fewer staff reductions are on the cards, with only about 15 per cent of employers planning redundancies.
More vacancies are also expected across the region this year, with the proportion of companies planning to hire additional staff rising from 41 per cent in the past year to 47 per cent in 2017.
“Following a year of massive redundancies caused by the collapse in oil prices, the Gulf region is finally set to witness a stabilisation in job cuts and a moderate rate of new job creation in 2017,” GulfTalent said in a statement sent to Gulf News.
Among the states in the Gulf, however, only Saudi Arabia is expected to continue facing some challenges this year, “due to its higher dependence on oil revenues.” Nearly half (45 per cent) of companies in the Kingdom are anticipating some headcount reductions in 2017.
“This is consistent with the IMF’s findings, which recently revised down its GDP growth outlook for Saudi Arabia from 2 per cent to 0.4 per cent. However, the Kingdom has embarked on the region’s most ambitious economic reform initiative, the National Transformation Programme, which aims to significantly reduce the country’s dependence on oil over the coming years,” according to GulfTalent.
Analysts had earlier predicted that the employment situation in the Gulf region is expected to improve this year, as more companies are prepared to hire new employees. Recruiting experts Hays reported that among the organisations it surveyed recently across the region, 72 per cent said they plan on recruiting additional staff in the next 12 months, up from 37 per cent who did so in 2016.
“When looking at employer confidence for the next 12 months, it seems that the worst of the recent downturn might be behind us, and consequently, we anticipate a reduction in the number of redundancies in 2017 compared to 2016,” Chris Greaves, Managing Director, Hays Gulf Region, told Gulf News.
“Cost-cutting exercises, such as company restructuring and redundancies, in response to low energy prices, have already taken place in the region. As a result, many organisations are operating on minimum staff levels and are now in a strong position to hire additional headcount to meet their 2017 business objectives,” Greaves said.
