But road, railway and airport projects boost demand for infrastructure skills
The economic downturn has slowed recruitment activity in the Middle East significantly, with Dubai in particular seeing a fall in the number of vacancies advertised, according to research by online recruitment firm GulfTalent.com.
The research shows that the percentage of Dubai-based vacancies advertised on the firm’s website constituted only 30 per cent of all GCC-based positions advertised in the first half of the year, compared with 43 per cent over the same period in the previous year. Kuwait and Bahrain have also been badly hit.
In contrast, Abu Dhabi has seen its percentage share of job vacancies increase from 14 per cent to 23 per cent, while Qatar and Saudi Arabia have also seen similar increases in their share of vacancies.
Share of vacancies advertised online:
|
|
First Half 2008 |
First Half 2009 |
|
Dubai |
43% |
30% |
|
United Arab Emirates (excl. Dubai) |
14% |
23% |
|
Saudi Arabia |
15% |
20% |
|
Qatar |
9% |
13% |
|
Kuwait |
10% |
7% |
|
Bahrain |
7% |
4% |
|
Oman |
2% |
3% |
Winners and losers
Across the region, the fall in demand has been most acute in investment, administration and marketing functions. Demand for investment professionals, including private equity and portfolio management, fell by 48 per cent in the first half of the year against the same period last year. For administration skills, demand fell by 47 per cent while the demand for marketing skills slid by 46 per cent.
But not all roles are suffering from a collapse in demand. Demand for infrastructure-related functions soared by 142 per cent, reflecting massive spending by GCC governments this year on road, railway and airport projects. Demand for audit professionals also increased by 25 per cent.
The survey also shows recruitment activity to be increasingly focused on mid-level and senior professionals, with less experienced candidates receiving less attention.
Future outlook
Quoting forecasts by economists, the study anticipates regional economic growth to return to healthy levels in 2010 and employment activity to pick up as a result. It warns, however, that recruitment will take some time to reach its pre-downturn levels, with the price of crude oil being the key factor determining the speed of regional recovery.
Until then, with the volume of new jobs being created not matching the number of young nationals entering the workforce, companies can expect a tightening of regulations with regard to employment of nationals, suggested the study.
