Majority of companies in the GCC projected to start hiring next year

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The job market in the GCC may not see the highs witnessed in 2008 but it is expected to outdo 2009.

Leading experts and human resource companies believe hiring will be on the agenda of many companies as they move into the New Year after many waves of lay-offs seen in 2009.

A latest survey from Mercer reiterates this.

The survey said majority of companies in the region appear positive as far as hiring is concerned.

About 56.4 per cent of the surveyed companies are planning to increase their workforce in the coming year. Of these, one in five said they will increase their workforce numbers by at least 20 per cent.

The survey also said contrary to expectations, 40 per cent of companies did not reduce headcount at all during 2009. Of those that did, a substantial majority indicated the reduction was less than 10 per cent. Most firms surveyed (87.2 per cent) said they have no plans to reduce headcount in 2010.

Bucking the global trend, two-thirds of firms (70.5 per cent) surveyed said they had granted pay rises during the year. About 2010, nearly half the respondents (48.1 per cent) said they would be providing base salary increases, while 45.6 per cent were still to decide.

The results from Mercer's end-of-year survey of 79 organisations show that the rate of cost-cutting measures that companies took, including right-sizing and restructuring, also appears to be slowing dramatically from earlier in the year.

Other leading experts from the UAE also believe that staff levels will definitely go up next year but candidates should not expect the exorbitant levels seen previously in boon times.

In fact, employment levels have already picked up in the last quarter of this year.

As per HR agencies, such as HR Consulting and Gulf Bankers, there has been substantial activity in the job market and there is renewed interest by clients who wish to hire.

As per an Emirates Business survey conducted in August this year, companies in the UAE had started hiring. During the survey, this paper spoke to 24 top officials with leading recruitment agencies in the country.

Majority of the respondents (87.5 per cent) said companies have started selectively hiring for the long term in preparation for a measured recovery in 2010.

The increase in employment is largely due to the belief that we may have hit the bottom of the global crises.

As far as the region is concerned, higher oil prices bode well for the overall economy and employment levels. An increasing number of companies expect 2010 to be better than this year.

According to a recent report by Markaz, GCC corporate earnings have improved significantly. "The coverage for the nine-month 2009 earnings at a GCC level has increased to 88 per cent from 75 per cent in November."

On a country specific level, the number of job listings on Monster.com for each of the member country within the GCC, as of December 22, showed the maximum postings for the UAE.

The UAE had 961 job postings followed by Saudi Arabia at 337. Qatar had 233, Kuwait had 104, Bahrain showed 60 and Oman had 45 job listings.

By Shuchita Kapur

© Emirates Business 24/7 2009