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Employment and SalaEmployment and Salary Trends in The Gulf 2016 Trends in The Gulf 2016
Employment and SalaEmployment and Salary Trends in The Gulf 2016 Trends in The Gulf 2016
Employment
and Salary Trends
in the Gulf
Saudi Arabia | Qatar | Kuwait | Oman | Bahrain | UAE
2016
About GulfTalent
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Covering all sectors and job categories, it is used by over 6 million professionals across the region for finding
top career opportunities. GulfTalent is the primary online recruitment channel for over 8,000 companies,
providing them access to both local and expatriate talent.
In addition to its core recruiting service, GulfTalent offers employer branding solutions, salary benchmarking
data, research reports on the employment market, and a directory of professional training courses across the
Middle East.
www.gulftalent.com
1
Executive Summary
After a decade of record high oil prices, pundits
inflationary market.
years.
Contents
Economic and Political Background
Recruitment Trends
Salaries 7
2016 Outlook
Country Highlights
11
12
13
Disclaimer
This document should be used for information purposes only. GulfTalent makes no claims or warranties
regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information provided, and accepts no liability for any use made
thereof. The recipient is solely responsible for the use of the information contained herein.
GulfTalent 2016. All rights reserved.
Budget
deficit
105
98
Oman
96
KSA
68
UAE
Oil price
drop
Qatar
2
4
15
OilOil
price
Needed
to Balance
Budget Budget
price
Needed
to Balance
USD
USD
17
58
21
52main export commodity,
Crude Kuwait
oil, the Gulf regions
Bahrain
98
17
21
52
Kuwait
15
58
Qatar
68
UAE
96
KSA
105
Oman
Budget
deficit
Geopolitical tensions
Crude
Oil Price
Oil price
graph
120
100
80
60
40
20
2013
Source: World Bank
2015
100
80
120
60
40
20
2013
Lebanon
Syria
2014
Iraq
2015
Kuwait
Bahrain
Qatar
Jordan
UAE
Oman
Egypt
Saudi Arabia
Yemen
Recruitment Trends
Healthcare booming
Attraction of Expatriates
Expatriates
% of Attraction
GCC-basedofexpats
outside each country who wish to
% ofinto
GCC-based
expats outside each country who
relocate
it
60%
UAE
40%
Qatar
20%
Saudi Arabia
Oman Bahrain
Kuwait
0%
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Following
robustSalary
hiring
activity in the first half
GCC Average
Increase
candidates.
2009- 2016
5.5%
5.2%
and experience.
Team Leader
UAE based Recruitment Firm
job offers.
Director of Development
Saudi-based Hotel Group
9%
7%
Q1
Percentage
of firms
downsizing in 2015
downsizing
in 2015
3%
4%
Q3
Q4
Nationalisation pressure
Increasing the share of private sector jobs held
by nationals continues to be a top priority for GCC
governments. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait recently
expanded the range of job categories reserved
Qatar
4%
Saudi Arabia
09
Oman Bahrain
Kuwait
Salaries
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Q1
5%
Q2
Q3
Q4
2015
Attraction of Expatriates
Pay
slowingexpats outside each country who
% rises
of GCC-based
2009- 2016
60%
With
2%
09
Private
Sector
Salary Increase by Country
GCC
private
sector
6.7% in the
Qatar
previous year. Employers also reported an
20%
Saudi Arabia
2010
pay.
Based on GulfTalents survey of employers,
Kuwait
0%
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016*
2009 increases
2010 2011are2012
salary
set to2013
slow2014
down2015
even further
2015
2014
Qatar
6.1%
Oman
6.1%
Saudi Arabia
UAE
5%
4%
7.5%
5.6%
6.2%
5.4%
Kuwait
Bahrain
5.9%
Q1
9%
6.5%
7%
7.6%
5.7%
Q3
5.9%
Q2
4.1%
Q4
Among sectors,
Retail experienced the highest
Private Sector Salary Increase by Country
2009
6.1%
2010
2014
2011
6.2%
2012
5.9%
2013
6.7%
5.7%
2014
2015
5.2%
2016*
* Forecast
Source: GulfTalent Surveys
6.1%
6.5%
Construction andOman
Banking, despite significant 6.1%
7.6%
5.9%
exposure toSaudi
theArabia
slowdown, registered healthy
pay
7.5%
5.6%
UAE respectively, as companies
rises at 6.1% and 6.0%
6.2%
5.4%
Kuwait
sought to remain
competitive and retain key
5.7%
4.1%
specialist staff. Bahrain
Hospitality saw the lowest
salary
5.9%
2015
2014
Retail
6.6%
6.8%
Construction
6.1%
7.8%
Banking
6.0%
5.1%
5.9%
6.8%
Telecoms & IT
5.7%
5.8%
Logistics
5.5%
7.3%
Real Estate
5.4%
7.2%
5.2%
Healthcare
Education
Hospitality
4.3%
3.7%
5.6%
5.0%
5.1%
Change2014-16
in Petrol
USD/litre,
Salary
Increase
byCategory
Job Category
Salary
Increase
by Job
2015
%,%,
2015
2015
2014
7.0%
HR
Marketing
6.3%
Engineering
Finance
Sales
Admin
IT
Source: GulfTalent Surveys
Price
6.0%
5.7%
5.5%
5.4%
5.1%
7.3%
Saudi Arabia
5.9%
Bahrain
7.1%
Qatar
6.8%
Oman
6.7%
Kuwait
6.1%
6.8%
-20%
67%
56%
30%
23%
0%*
UAE
2016 Outlook
Moderate business growth
With oil prices expected to remain under pressure
effectively.
3.7%
3.3%
3.0%
-1.3 %
3.3%
2.7%
2.1%
Oman
Bahrain
2015
3.3%
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Job cuts
A number of companies surveyed by GulfTalent
GDP Growth
Kuwait
HR Manager
UAE-based Oil & Gas Firm
1.6%
1.2%
1.1%
1.0%
Conservative hiring
pace of redundancies
well accelerate.
Private Sectorcould
Redundancies
Private Sector
cuts Redundancies
in 2016
14 %
Saudi Arabia
10% 1
Oman
9%
UAE
Qatar
8%
GCC
Average Real
Real Salary
GCC
Average
SalaryIncrease
Increase
4.1%
3.4%
3.2%
2.9%
1.4%
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Regional tensions
Employers in several GCC countries already face
Salary Increase
Saudi Arabia
Inflation
5.9%
UAE
5.3%
4.7%
3.1%
Qatar
4.7%
2.7%
Kuwait
4.6%
4.2%
Oman
Bahrain
4.4%
3.7%
2.0%
3.7%
10
Country Highlights
Saudi Arabia
Saudisation has intensified, with additional work
titles made mandatory to be filled by Saudi nationals
A new Wage Protection System has centralised
processing of employee salaries to guarantee
timely payments
Cuts in government scholarships for overseas
study are set to increase demand for domestic
UAE
Lifting of the 6-month visa ban as part of the
labour law changes has made hiring easier, but
is increasing staff attrition
Recent decline in fuel prices and some
residential rents are partly offsetting price rises
elsewhere
New project awards have slowed, with the
talent
Expo 2020
Qatar
After initial logistical difficulties, the
implementation of the wage protection system is
going smoothly
Proposed changes to Kafala system aim to
increase employee rights on some contracts
and allow job changes, starting from Dec. 2016
Many companies are switching their staff
to permanent contracts which remain more
Kuwait
Nationalization policies intensified with
expansion of the job titles reserved for nationals
Expatriates now face additional restrictions on
issuing of driving licenses, visas for families, and
a residency cap
With competition among employers to meet
Kuwaitization targets, employee turnover among
nationals is on the rise
restrictive to employees
Oman
The two-year visa ban and restrictions on job
Bahrain
Governments amnesty on illegal expatriates
hiring difficult
experienced workers
hiring expats
hiring activity
11
Country
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Qatar
Oman
Bahrain
UAE
2014
7.5%
5.7%
6.5%
7.6%
5.9%
6.2%
2015
5.9%
5.4%
6.1%
6.1%
4.1%
5.6%
2016*
5.9%
4.6%
4.7%
4.4%
3.7%
5.3%
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Qatar
Oman
Bahrain
UAE
2014
3.6%
-1.6%
4.0%
2.9%
4.5%
4.6%
2015
3.3%
-1.3%
3.7%
3.0%
2.7%
3.3%
2016*
1.1%
1.2%
3.3%
1.6%
1.0%
2.1%
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Qatar
Oman
2014
2.7%
3.0%
2.8%
2015
2.2%
3.7%
2016*
4.7%
Saudi Arabia
Economic Growth
Country
Inflation
Country
Bahrain
UAE
1.0%
2.5%
2.3%
2.7%
0.1%
0.7%
4.1%
4.2%
2.7%
2.0%
3.7%
3.1%
Kuwait
Qatar
Oman
Bahrain
UAE
4.4
2.3
4.6
1.3
8.9
Population
(millions)
Country
2016*
31.1
* Forecast
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, GulfTalent Surveys
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Salary Benchmarking
www.gulftalent.com/employers
www.gulftalent.com/salaries
Employer Branding
Cost of Living
of choice
and schooling
www.gulftalent.com/employers
www.gulftalent.com/costofliving
Training
Employment Research
Gulf countries
www.gulftalent.com/courses
www.gulftalent.com/research
Contact details
www.gulftalent.com
services@gulftalent.com
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