Majority Of GCC Workers To Change Jobs Over Low Pay Rises In 2015

Around 78 per cent of employees in the GCC will consider looking for a new job in 2015 due to lower salary hikes than they expected, a new study has found.

According to a report by recruitment group Hays UAE, around 79 per cent of employees in the GCC are expecting to see a salary increase of five per cent whereas just 35 per cent of employers were planning to provide that level of pay rise.

Such a difference in expectations of salary growth could lead to employees looking for new opportunities, the report added.

“This difference between employee and employer salary expectations coupled with the increased number of vacancies we’ve seen, will create a market driven by job seekers” says Chris Greaves, managing director of Hays UAE.

“As the economy in the Middle East continues to strengthen, professionals are more confident about changing jobs in order to realise their salary expectations. In 2015 this means that businesses are at real risk of losing key staff members.”

Employees looking for new jobs will also find new opportunities with the hiring market remaining positive, Hays said.

Almost 76 per cent of hiring managers surveyed by Hays said that they planned to hire for their companies this year while 38 per cent noted that there was no skill shortage in the market.

“A larger salary shouldn’t be the primary driving factor in seeking new employment but there’s no doubt that it plays a part in securing the interest of a new hire” said Greaves.

“The message in here is that employers need to be particularly mindful of the financial welfare and career development of their key staff in 2015 or risk losing them.”

Hiring activity has picked up over the last two years In line with the positive economic confidence in the GCC.

However, experts say that salaries are not keeping up with the rate of inflation, especially in countries such as the UAE.

Average salaries for UAE professional roles rose by just two per cent over the last year even as inflation stayed at 3.1 per cent, according to recruitment consultancy Robert Half

Such a mismatch between income and living costs has also led to the popularity of the UAE dropping among expats.

In an HSBC study last year, the UAE was ranked the 15th top expat destination globally in an HSBC study last year, below other GCC countries such as Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.