In an attempt to shed more light on potential current and expected job opportunities in the Middle Eastern market, Bayt.com & YouGov Siraj have once again joined their efforts to introduce the first ever Job Index Survey in the Middle East. “The Middle East Job Index Survey” will be issued quarterly - October 09 being the base period- and aims to gauge perceptions of job availability and hiring, to identify jobs and to provide an understanding of the key skill sets and qualifications that employers are looking for in talents across the Middle East today.
“The Middle East Job Index” is calculated using 2 key indices, the JI (Job Index), and the HEI (Hiring Expectancy Index) - relying basically on 2 questions (from which the figures are derived): - Will you be hiring in the next 3 months wither for your organization/ clients- if you are in the recruitment / HR consultancy field? - Do you think you will be hiring in a year’s time from now either for your organization or for your clients- if you are in the recruitment / HR consultancy field?
October 2009 Highlights: 1. Hiring Expectancy- Overall:
- Current: In the next 3 months, 26% of participating employers stated they are definitely hiring, 26% are probably be hiring, 8% are probably not hiring, 6% are definitely not hiring and 33% cannot yet tell if they are to hire or not.
- Expected: In the next 6 months, 36% of participants stated they will definitely be hiring, 30% will probably be hiring, 5% will probably not be hiring, 3% will definitely not be hiring, and 26% cannot yet tell if they will be hiring or not.
2. Hiring Expectancy by Country:
- Current: In the next 3 months, countries that are “definitely hiring” are Oman (34%), KSA (31%) and Lebanon (30%). Countries that are “probably hiring” are Algeria (34%), Tunisia (33%), Qatar (32%).
- Expected: In a year’s time, countries planning to “definitely hire” are Oman (57%), Algeria (45%), KSA (43%). Countries planning to “probably hire”: Lebanon (37%), Qatar & Jordan (35%).
3. Hiring Expectancy by Sector:
- Current: In the next 3 months, sectors that are “definitely hiring”: Private Sector- Multi National Companies (32%) and Private sector- Large Local Companies (30%). Sectors that are “probably hiring” are Private sector –other (29%) and Public/ Government (27%).
- Expected: In a year’s time, sectors planning to “definitely hire” are Private sector - Large local companies (39%) and Private sector- Multi National Companies (38%). Sectors planning to “probably hire” are Private sector- Small/ Medium Local Companies (34%) and Private sector- other (32%).
4. Other JI Highlights: -
In terms of numbers of jobs available: 42% of total employers said they have to fill in less than 5 jobs in the next 3 months (mostly in Jordan at 54% and Lebanon at 52%) while 24 % are looking into filling 6 to 10 jobs (mostly in Syria t 29% and UAE at 28%).
- In terms of positions in demand: Positions that are most in demand are junior executive positions (22%), followed by executive positions (21%) and senior executive positions (19%)
- Top management positions are the least sought by employers : VP (4%), Senior VP (3%), President (2%).
- In terms of education and academic qualifications: Education and academic qualifications that are most in demand by total employers are engineering (21%), business management (21%) and commerce (19%). Qualifications that are least in demand by employers are law (5%) and hospitality (4%).
- In terms of education and academic qualifications- by country: Qatar, Bahrain &Oman employers are those seeking engineering graduates the most (at 31%, 30%, and 28 % respectively), while Lebanon employers are mostly hunting for business management graduates (38%), followed by Bahrain employers again (30%).
- In terms of skills: 60% of total employers stated they look mostly for good communication skills (in both English and Arabic) in a candidate, followed by the ability to act as a team player – at 48% of the votes.
- In terms of experience: 34% of employers stated they are ideally looking for candidates with managerial experience , while 27% are more interested in sales and marketing experience.
- In terms of country of residence attractiveness: 43% of employers stated their country of residence is more attractive - to varying extents- as a job marker than its neighboring countries in the Middle East, while 16% stated it is equally attractive and 30% stated it is less attractive - to varying extents.
- In terms of country of residence attractiveness- by country: 49% of UAE employers find it much more attractive than neighboring countries, followed by KSA employers at 44%.
- In terms of industry attractiveness: 40% of employers find their industry more attractive- to varying extents- as a potential employer compared to other industries.
- In terms of most attractive industries: banking & finance still ranks first at 32% (it is still the most attractive industry in Bahrain at 48%, Syria at 40% & Jordan at 39%), followed by telecommunications at 31% (it is the most attractive industry in Tunisia at 39% & Egypt at 36%). The least attractive industries according to participating employers are electronics at 19% and business consultancy at 15%.
