DOHA: Qatar witnessed a 2.2 percent increase in its expatriate employees in the fourth quarter last year, placing second in the GCC ranking, according to latest data released by GulfTalent.com yesterday.
Based on the employment data by the online recruitment firm, expatriates are more likely to secure a new job in Saudi Arabia than in any other country in the GCC, as the Kingdom posted 2.4 percent rise in the population of its expatriate workers in the last quarter of 2009.
Oman also showed a marginal rise, with a 0.3 percent growth.
The results are based on actual staff increases and decreases reported by 11,000 managers across the region, who participated in a survey by GulfTalent.com conducted in February and March this year.
Growth in Qatar has been fuelled by the country's continued exploitation of its huge gas reserves, the third largest in the world while massive spending by the Saudi government on infrastructure projects has helped maintain economic activity during the global economic downturn.
Qatar, however, had the highest rate of redundant employees returning home at 54 percent, in part due to strict laws prohibiting employees from switching employers. Based on the survey results, Kuwait, UAE and Bahrain saw a drop in the number of expatriate employees during the fourth quarter, with declines of 2.8 percent, 4.2percent and 7.7 percent respectively.
The UAE economy was hit hard last year by the slowdown in the real estate market and the virtual freeze in lending. Bahrain and Kuwait have been heavily impacted by the exposure of their banking and investment sectors.
Interviews with hiring managers found that the increased demand for staff in Saudi Arabia and Qatar was being satisfied by a combination of new recruitment, as well as staff relocations within the region, with companies moving large numbers of their employees from slower markets such as the UAE.
The survey also shows that job prospects for expatriate employment in the GCC vary between sectors. Headcount in the logistics sector rose by 3 percent in the last quarter of 2009. The retail and consumer goods sector came in second place with overall headcount increasing by 2.6 percent.
In contrast, real estate and oil and gas were the fastest shrinking sectors, with headcount falls of 7.8 percent and 4.7 percent respectively.
In terms of job categories, the number of sales jobs expanded by 3.5 percent, possibly indicating growing market optimism, with companies bracing themselves for increased customer demand in 2010, the study reveals.
There was a decline in the number of expats employed in finance and administration roles, with net falls of 3.1 percent and 2.2 percent respectively, as firms continued to rationalize back office functions and seek efficiencies. Engineering jobs faced a net reduction of 2.6 percent as new project starts did not fully absorb all the engineers being released from recently completed projects.Despite the uneven nature of employment prospects, survey participants in all six GCC countries expected to see a net increase in employment in 2010.
© The Peninsula 2010
