A recent Gulf News headline might have had readers scratching their heads: It said 98 percent of professionals in the Middle East are looking for jobs.
Of course, the reality is much simpler. Most of that surprisingly high percentage includes anyone looking for a new job — even if it’s simply checking job opportunities on an internet portal.
The article starts with an anecdotal story about a human resources
manager facing a salary reduction as part of downsizing by her
employer, but it quickly pivots to brighter findings: for example, a study showing a full 95 percent of respondents saying they were “more
prepared and qualified” to find new jobs this year than they were last year.
The article relies on statistics from Bayt.com, a popular Middle Eastern job
portal that provides other information as well, such as how long
career professionals stay with their employers in the Middle East, how they
feel about promotion prospects, and what methods they use to look for new jobs.
“We have witnessed tremendous growth in the number of
professionals who use (Bayt.com) to access the career tools and information
they need,” Suhail Masri, Bayt.com vice president for Employer Solutions told the Gulf News,
citing up to 10,000 jobs open at any one time on the platform in the first months
of 2017.
Other statistics from Bayt.com point out common obstacles
to professional development, such as lack of growth opportunities, lack
of experience, business mismanagement, competition and fear of failure.
The unemployment picture is not
the same everywhere in the region, though. A World Bank report shows unemployment remaining
“stubbornly high” in countries like Egypt and Yemen. It conspicuously leaves
out countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, where the employment
situation is a bit rosier.
For more on the Middle East jobs perspective, the Gulf News
Journal spoke with Nikhil Salvi, manager of Investment Research and Analytics at the research firm
Aranca. Salvi specializes in macroeconomic research across major developed
economies, as well as emerging economies, especially India and the Middle East.
“The fall in oil prices has had far-reaching impacts on life in the Middle East,” Salvi said. “From high budget deficits, fuel price
increases, and a freeze on government expenditures, now the impact has also seeped
down to the employment level.”
However, Salvi also cited the optimism and
enthusiasm that Bayt.com found in the workforce as a whole. He pointed to
some aspects of life in Middle East countries that still bring career
professionals from abroad.
“Due to no or low taxes, the Middle East is still an
attractive proposition for job seekers from many countries, who pay high taxes
in their home country,” Salvi said. “While oil prices fall and budget cuts continue
to dampen overall economic sentiment and trigger halts in corporate expansion
plans, employment seekers have become more active to seek a more monetarily
rewarding opportunity.”
