Hot on the heels of our latest blog entry on jobs in Dubai, Bayt.com released its latest Middle East Consumer Confidence Index research report, conducted in conjunction with YouGovSiraj. The Bayt.com YouGovSiraj May CCI study showed a drop in confidence across the region dipping by 7 index points in Qatar, 3 points in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and 9 points in the UAE as compared to January 2008 levels. In the UAE, 61% of respondents maintained salaries have not kept pace with inflation and 46% maintained they are unhappy with current compensation levels. Moreover there was a significant drop in the propensity to consume in the UAE with only 19% of consumers considering today as a good time to purchase consumer durable goods and 29% considering it a bad time.
The question on jobseekers minds today is does the UAE and the GCC in general remain an attractive place to live and work despite rampant inflation and declining confidence levels – and the answer is an unequivocal yes! The reasons for our optimism are manifold.
Firstly, despite the inflation that is being felt across the region thanks to booming economies, burgeoning demand and a weaker dollar, across the region 34% of respondents to the survey indicated their current financial situation is actually better than it was a year ago and only 26% said worse; in other words more people are better off than are worse off this year relative to last year. In the UAE, 30% of respondents indicated their financial situation was better than last year and 25% said worse, again indicating more people are better off than worse off. Moreover when we asked people about their expectations for a year hence, 50% of regional respondents said they expect their financial situation to be better in a years time and only 9% said worse (14% thought it would remain the same) so there is a great deal of optimism still across the region. In the UAE alone, 54% of respondents expect their family’s financial situation will be better in a year’s time and only 8% think it will be worse.
There are more indications of the general robustness of the UAE economy as evidenced by the survey. When asked in what way they think the country’s economy would change n a year’s time the survey answer was overwhelmingly positive with 40% of UAE respondents indicating they think the economy would be better and only 28% indicating they thought it would be worse. Moreover, when we asked people in the UAE “In what way do you expect availability of employment to change in a year’s time?” 51% of UAE respondents said there would be MORE employment opportunities available and only 15% said there would be fewer employment opportunities available. Clearly a healthy level of optimism prevails vis-à-vis the availability of jobs in the UAE and the attractiveness and robustness of the economy in general even if consumers are feeling the pinch of higher prices. The dip we we are seeing in CCI levels in relative terms is in all probability an indicator that the Index started off at extremely high levels of consumer confidence but we should not be misled into thinking these are despondent times for the UAE; far form it; there is a great deal of optimism still in the UAE economy and job market and the survey clearly supports this.
Is the UAE still an attractive proposition for expats as it become more expensive to live and work in or will they leave is a question we are often asked at Bayt.com. Again, our polls, repeated research and market intelligence are clear on this (see Human Resource Overview 2008, a Middle East salary survey). The UAE maintains its allure as a highly attractive place to live and work and is no danger of losing its global standing as a leading commercial and economic hub and a beacon for ambitious career-minded professionals anxious to make their mark in landmark ground-breaking projects with world-class local and multinational blue-chip organizations or the pioneering public sector. Today at a time when many other economies are grappling with recessionary prospects the UAE and GCC in general are enjoying boom times and many projects seeking world-class talent in the UAE and region at large are unprecedented in ambition and scope on a global scale. The UAE will remain for the foreseeable future in our opinion a winning haven for competitive top-class professionals who take their career progression seriously and want to participate in making business history.
