Qatar Eclipses UAE for Biggest Salaries in Region, latest Bayt.com and YouGov Siraj study reveals

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As in the previous wave, the lowest paid residents in the region are in the North African countries of Algeria, Egypt and Morocco - although the total number of professionals receiving the lowest salary level has dropped in each country. This year, 50% of residents in Algeria earn under $500 per month compared with 54% last year. In Egypt, 41% of professionals receive up to $500 per month, along with 40% of professionals in Morocco, while 2% of professionals in Morocco earn more than $8,000 per month, as do just 1% of professionals in Egypt.

The Middle East Salary Survey, conducted annually by Bayt.com and YouGov Siraj, is designed to look at the current levels of wages and benefits in the region, and to gauge employee opinion and satisfaction levels vis-à-vis the salaries they receive, and how these have kept pace with the cost of living.

"There is a very high demand for accurate figures on salary levels in the Middle East across industries, job roles and career levels," stated Bayt.com's CEO, Rabea Ataya. "By conducting this comprehensive pan-regional, pan-industrial, salary survey which covers professionals across the GCC, Levant and North Africa, we are able to shed timely light on what level of salaries people are earning and whether the Middle East's professionals are, or indeed are not, satisfied with how much they are paid, in addition to their expectations vis-à-vis future salaries and economic conditions."

This year, the biggest disparity in the increase in living costs compared to salary raise was felt in Syria - where respondents felt the cost of living had increased by 28%, while salaries had increased by just 9%. Following close behind was Saudi Arabia and Jordan where in each country there was an 18 percentage point disparity between the rise in salary level and the rise in the cost of living. While there were still sizeable gaps between the salary and living cost increases, the countries where this gap was smallest were Tunisia and Qatar, which both recorded a 12% difference and Morocco and Bahrain which both reported a 14% gap. 

Interestingly, the respondents were asked to compare their salary raise for the period of December 2008-2009, and their salary raise for the period of December 2007-2008. Across all of the surveyed countries, the salary increase for the 2007-2008 period was higher than a year later, which perhaps demonstrates the effect of the recession on the region's salaries. On average, the 2007-2008 salary raise was 9.0% compared to a 7.3% average raise the following year.

This year's salary survey also looked at the respondents' level of satisfaction with the pay rise they received. For the most part, the region's respondents did not receive a pay rise, with a sizeable 44% missing out on a pay rise. This figure was 55% of respondents in the UAE, and an overwhelming 59% of respondents in Kuwait - the highest among the surveyed countries. In the UAE, just 4% of professionals said they were very happy with their salary increase, 7% were very unhappy, 13% consider themselves as unhappy, and just 6% agreed that their pay rise was fair given the economic circumstances.

The survey also looked at what percentage of their salary people manage to save each month. The results showed that a high proportion, 38%, do not manage to save any of their monthly salary at all. Jordan, Morocco and Syria were the countries where respondents were least likely to save, with 54%, 51% and 50%, respectively, stating that they save no money each month. The best savers were respondents in Qatar - 74% of those surveyed manage to save money each month, followed by 71% of respondents in Oman.

Despite the widespread unhappiness with pay rises, the region's respondents still believe they are better off than others in terms of their quality of life in their country of residence, when compared to their peers. In the UAE, 42% of professionals said they are better off than others, while 40% said they were about average. At the other end of the spectrum, just 14% of respondents said they were worse off than others. Those feeling worse off were respondents in Jordan - 21% said they were worse off than others of their generation.

"Employers and employees alike need to look at studies like this to help in gauging both what to pay and what to expect, respectively. Given the challenging economic circumstances of the past year, it comes as no surprise perhaps that so many of the region's professionals did not even receive a pay rise," said Joanna Longworth, CMO, YouGov. "However, many of the region's professionals feel they are doing better than others in terms of their quality of life. This demonstrates while they may be unhappy with their pay rise or the current economic conditions, in reality they still feel in a relatively good position."

The study additionally revealed that across the Middle East, 74% of residents feel they have personally been affected by the global economic crisis. In the UAE, this figure was slightly above the average at 75%, with just 25% saying they have not been affected. Residents in Jordan - 81% - were the hardest hit amongst the surveyed countries, while least affected were respondents in Oman and Lebanon, where 57% and 58% respectively said they have been affected by the crisis.

Asked their feelings about the current economic climate in terms of the labour market, almost a quarter of respondents, 22%, said they feel optimistic that there will be robust economic growth in their country of residence and more jobs available in a year's time. Unlike the last wave when the region's professionals were largely pessimistic about the future, this year just 18% felt pessimistic about the future, showing a general improvement in optimism. Oman and Morocco were the most optimistic about the future - 34% and 28%, respectively said they were feeling very optimistic, while Jordan and Lebanon  were the least optimistic with just 16%  and 14% of professionals- respectively-  stating they are very optimistic. In the UAE, just 13% said they were quite pessimistic while 22% said they were very optimistic.

"The salary survey serves to paint a clear picture of economic conditions inside a particular country and allows organisations, recruiters and stakeholders across all types of industry to see how salary levels are changing from year to year. By conducting such a survey, we can add value to organisations across the region by giving them an insight into current trends and feelings about the labour market, which can then be used as impetus for affecting change," concluded Ataya.

Data for the 2009/2010 Salary Survey was collected online in February 2010 with 10,699 respondents across the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Males and females of all nationalities aged over 20 years were included in the survey. 

-Ends-

Bayt.com is the #1 job site in the Middle East with more than 30,000 employers and 3.75 Million registered job seekers from across the Middle East, North Africa and the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels. Post a job or find jobs on Bayt.com today and access the leading resource for job seekers and employers in the region.

YouGov Siraj is a full-service market research company, specializing in qualitative and online research, as well as opinion polling.  YouGov Siraj has the region's largest pure research panel of 137,000 members, who regularly respond to surveys. The company has particularly strong analytical skills, with research specialists who have many years regional experience.  YouGov Siraj acts as a research consultancy for clients on research projects of any size, outsourcing face-to-face and telephone, ensuring the very best service the region can offer. It is a subsidiary company of YouGov Siraj Plc in the UK and applies the same online methodology, which has proven levels of accuracy.

For further enquiries:
Bayt.com contacts
Lama Ataya
Director of Marketing and Corporate Communication
Tel: 04 391 1900
Lama-ataya@bayt.net

YouGov Siraj contacts:
Joanna Longworth
Chief Marketing Officer
joanna.longworth@yougovsiraj.com
Tel: 04 367 0340
Mobile: 050 848 7038             
                                                                       
Gregory Henderson
Manning, Selvage & Lee (MS&L)
Tel: +971 4 367 6275
Fax: 971 4 367 2615
Email: Gregory.henderson@dubai.mslpr.com

© Press Release 2010