The latest Bayt.com Job Index survey, conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s number one jobsite, and YouGov, a research and consulting organisation, has shown that more than half of the companies in the Middle East and North Africa are considering hiring in the next3 months. In Lebanon,27%claim to be ‘definitely hiring’ within this timeframe, with74% of companies expecting to fill up to10 positions.
Lebanon
Half of respondents in Lebanon (50%) state that their company will be ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ hiring in the next3 months (compared to63% in Q1), with62% claiming the same in a year’s time from now (compared to69% in Q1). Three quarters respondents (74%) indicate they aim to fill up to10 positions. Of these,27% claim they will look to fill between6-to-10 positions.
The more desirable qualifications for job candidates in Lebanon to hold are those in business management (40%), engineering (23%) and IT (21%), while employers prefer candidates with good communication skills in both English and Arabic (57%), who have good negotiation skills (53%), and who have the ability to work under pressure (52%). In terms of experience, candidates who have the ability to manage a team (45%) and have computer skills (28%) are desirable, as are those who have experience in sales and marketing (26%).
More than half of respondents (53%) believe that the country is less attractive as a job market than other Middle East countries. The most attractive industries in Lebanon are perceived to be banking and finance (58%), advertising (38%) and construction (33%).
Across MENA
Across the region,30% of companies claim to be definitely hiring, with an additional25% ‘probably hiring’ in the coming3 months. The country with the highest hiring expectancy in the next3 months is Saudi Arabia, with a collective65% of companies ‘definitely’ (41%) or ‘probably’ (24%) hiring. The country with the lowest hiring expectancy is Morocco, with only17% of companies ‘definitely’ hiring, and21% ‘probably’ hiring.
In the next12 months,31% of the region’s companies expect to be ‘definitely hiring’, and37% will be ‘probably hiring’. Algeria has the highest expectations for future hiring, with75% of its companies claiming they will ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ take on new employees in the next year. Bahrain is at the other end of the scale, with just48% of its companies anticipating new hires within the same period.
The majority of jobs across the region will come from the private sector in the next3 months, led by large local companies (34% ‘definitely’ and29% ‘probably’ hiring), multi-nationals (35% ‘definitely’ and24% ‘probably’ hiring), and small-medium local companies (27% ‘definitely’ and30% ‘probably’ hiring); these three sectors dominate hiring expectancies in the next12 months, too.
“The fact that are many jobs coming from small-to-medium sized local companies is a good sign of booming local economies in the Middle East, as this signals that smaller entrepreneurial ventures are more comfortable hiring than they were in the beginning of the year,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com. “At Bayt.com, we specialise in gathering the most relevant information that will help job seekers and employers alike to make informed decisions based on the regional employment market.”
Regionally in the next3 months, the majority of companies (45%) are looking to hire less than five jobs, with24% looking to fill between6-to-10 new positions. The majority of jobs will be for junior executives (33%), executives (28%), and managers (27%). Employees with qualifications in business management (28%), engineering (25%), and commerce (21%) are most in demand, while the most desirable skills for regional job seekers are the ability to communicate well in both English and Arabic (50%), the ability to be a team player (48%), and good leadership skills (47%). Candidates with experience in managing a team (42%), computer skills (31%), and sales and marketing (27%) are also sought after.
“The trend continues that more companies are looking to hire junior executives and executives, which is good news for graduates and first-time employees. That there are a number of upcoming jobs in the private sector should contribute to resolving regional unemployment issues by providing new graduates with career opportunities,” said Sundip Chahal, CEO, YouGov.
The MENA’s most attractive industries are perceived to be banking and finance (35% - up from33% in the first half of2013), construction (32% - equal to the first half of2013), telecommunications (31% - down2% from the first half of2013). According to respondents, the MENA’s most attractive countries to live and work in are the UAE (54% of UAE residents say their country is most attractive), followed by Qatar (46%) and Saudi Arabia (44%).
Data for the Bayt.com Job Index August2013 survey was collected online from June12-July252013. Results are reported on a base of3,430respondents. Countries that participated are UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Pakistan.