UAE Employees To See 5% Pay Rise In 2013

Employees in the Middle East can expect an average salary increase of 5.4 for 2013, according to the latest Total Remuneration survey by Mercer.

While workers in the UAE and Bahrain can expect a five per cent pay-rise, those in Oman may see a 5.1 per cent increase in salary and those in Qatar can hope to see a 5.2 per cent pay hike.

Employees in Kuwait can anticipate seeing a salary hike of 5.4 per cent, while those in Saudi Arabia are set to enjoy the highest increase in pay of six per cent in 2013, said the survey.

“These figures have remained relatively unchanged over the last couple of years, a sign of the region relative economic stability and mature business environment,” the report added.

Looking at the MENA region, there is a large variation in forecast pay increases due to the diverse nature of the countries, said Mercer.

Companies in Africa are anticipating average increases of eight per cent, with employees in Egypt expecting to receive a 10 per cent hike in wages this year.

However, Mercer also said that an estimated five per cent of companies across the region are planning to freeze salaries in 2013.

Zaid Kamhawi, Middle East business leader for Information Product Solutions at Mercer said: “While anticipated pay increases are affected by consumer price inflation, those in 2013 are predicted to be above the forecasted inflation generating real pay growth for employees.

“Companies however are placing less emphasis on inflation rates when budgeting for pay increases, and factoring such variables as relative pay competitiveness, affordability, labour market conditions and confidence in their business outlook.”