The most recent “Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa” Survey, compiled by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, and YouGov, research and consulting group, revealed that Banking and Finance is the most attractive industry in Lebanon in2017.
Banking/ Finance/ Accounting emerged as the industry that attracts the highest proportion of “local talent,” according to30% of respondents. It was also voted as the industry with the strongest growth as well as the most attractive industry for fresh graduates, according to34% and36% of respondents respectively.
Although Education/ Academia emerged as the most attractive industry for women in Lebanon, according to39% of respondents, it was closely followed by Banking/ Finance/ Accounting at36%.
Most Attractive Industries
Nearly four in10 respondents in Lebanon (39%) claimed that the Banking/ Finance/ Accounting industry has the highest job security, while31% said that the Military/ Defense/ Police sector has high job security.
More than a quarter (28%) of Lebanese respondents claimed that the Banking/ Finance/ Accounting industry offers the “best salary packages.” This was followed by Real Estate/ Construction/ Property Development at23% and Engineering/ Design at20%.
In terms of the “best work-life balance,”35% of Lebanese respondents claim that Banking/ Finance/ Accounting sector is also the top industry in this regard.
Most Stressful Industries
Military/ Defense/ Police emerged as the most stressful industry for24% of Lebanese respondents. Healthcare/ Medical services and Media/ Journalism/ Publishing were also perceived as the most stressful industries each by19% of respondents. On the other hand, Domestic Services (2%), Pharmaceuticals (3%), Automotive (3%), Market Research (3%), and Telecommunications (3%) were reportedly among the least stressful industries in Lebanon.
Hospitality/ Recreation/ Entertainment tops the list for the longest working hours, according to29% of Lebanese respondents, followed by Healthcare/ Medical services (23%) and Military/ Defense/ Police (20%).
Suhail Masri, Vice President of Employer Solutions at Bayt.com, said: “It is eye-opening to find out which industries the region’s professionals favor working in, as it is easy to rely on false impressions. More and more professionals are becoming satisfied with their job attributes, be it training opportunities or compensation or work culture. Yet, many are on the lookout for new and better career opportunities. We encourage all job seekers to make use of our website and access more than12,000 jobs that are available on Bayt.com today.”
Current/Most recent Industry Satisfaction
When looking at how satisfied Lebanese respondents are with their current/ most recent salary packages,38% of respondents claimed that they are satisfied with this aspect, inclusive of non-monetary benefits.
More than half of Lebanese respondents are satisfied with both their work culture (56%) and working hours (55%).52% are satisfied with their job security and48% are satisfied with their work-life balance.
In terms of training and development, just under half (49%) of Lebanese respondents claim to be “completely satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with the programs available to them and47% claim to be satisfied with their career growth.
Switching Industries
Another major finding of the survey is that over a quarter of Lebanese respondents (26%) have changed industries in the last year. Better salaries (37%), better opportunities for career growth (26%), and flexible timings in new industry (22%) are the top three reasons for their change.
37% of those surveyed in Lebanon are considering an industry change in the next few months.53% of them are seeking a better salary,51% are seeking better career growth, while32% are seeking better benefits.
Masri adds: “We regularly advice the region’s employers to pay attention to the factors influencing employee attrition and work with us to strengthen their employer brand and their retention efforts. Our aim is to always enrich the region’s job market and empower its professionals by offering the most updated information, such as this survey, and the most powerful tools for job seekers and employers alike.”
“Respondents are evidently keen to find and maintain career opportunities that satisfy their professional and personal needs,” said Elissavet Vraka, Research Manager, YouGov. “This is why this survey is so insightful; it provides all professionals in the MENA region with more direction, as to which job attributes are valued the most and which fields of work are excelling in providing them.”
Data for the Bayt.com ‘Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa’ survey was conducted between February23 and March7,2017 with7,162 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.