The2022 Top Industries in the MENA survey by Bayt.com, the Middle East's #1 job site, and market research agency YouGov, was conducted to help professionals understand current satisfaction levels within certain industries and make an informed decision about their future. The survey revealed that54% of the MENA residents are satisfied with their working hours, followed by work culture (47%) and work-life balance (45%).
Most Popular Industries
This year, many industries in the MENA region are thriving with new career opportunities for professionals, with most job seekers interested in working in Education/ Academia (7%), Banking/ Finance/ Accounting (6%) and Advertising/ Marketing/ Public Relations (6%).
Consistent with the above findings,20% believe that Banking/ Finance/ Accounting offers the best salary packages (inclusive of non-monetary benefits) after Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals (37%). When asked to look ahead, IT/ Internet/ E-commerce (29%) is seen as the top industry that is expected to record the strongest growth next year, followed by Tourism (19%) and Real Estate/ Construction/ Property Development (15%).
Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com says: “Our latest survey maps job seeker preferences and the industries of the future, tracking the pace of change. In light of pandemic-related disruptions in the past two years and the expected outlook for technology adoption, jobs and skills, the data helps to identify which industries are perceived to perform best to make professionals’ job search easier.”
A variety of insights from respondents who are at the beginning of their careers revealed that Military/ Defence/ Police (18%) hires the highest proportion of fresh graduates among other industries. The majority of respondents (61%) also believe that the government is a favorable employer, with41% claiming that the government is an extremely favorable employer.
Most Attractive Industries to Female and Local Talent
Healthcare/ Medical Services (26%), Education/ Academia (24%) and Banking/ Finance/ Accounting (19%) emerge as the industries which are the most attractive to females. Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals (23%), followed by Banking/ Finance/ Accounting (19%) are the top two industries in terms of attracting the highest proportion of local talents.
Changing Industries
Another major finding of the survey is that almost a quarter (22%) of MENA respondents have changed their industry at least once in the past two years. For those who have changed industries, better salaries (36%), lack of recognition (28%) and better opportunities for career growth (26%) are the top three reasons for having changed their industry.
Almost6 in10 professionals in the MENA region (58%) are considering an industry change in the next few months. Better salary (60%) is the top reason for considering an industry change, while better career growth follows at41%. Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals (9%) emerges as the most appealing industry amongst those who consider an industry change.
Zafar Shah, Research Director at YouGov said: “The survey provides the timely insights needed to orient MENA professionals towards opportunities as well as optimize recruiters’ hiring efforts. We find that technology-driven job creation is forecast to rise with IT/ Internet/ E-commerce expected to record the strongest growth in the coming year. The data also aims to support future earners and employees – offering a glimpse of industries hiring fresh graduates so they can access meaningful employment and thrive in today’s job market.”
Data for the2022 Top Industries in the MENA survey was collected online from9 to28 February,2022. Results are based on a sample of2,510 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, and others.