Business & Money | Monday 27 November, 2017 4:38 pm |

The Middle East region and the professional labour market continues to be unpredictable with 2017 providing  numerous challenges. At the time of writing (November 2017), we have seen continued instability at country  and regional level courtesy of multiple issues / actions; a silver lining being the rise in oil to nearly $65 a barrel.

 

This continued instability has slowed decision making which we thought would actually improve the market  beginning Q4 17 and into 2018. The majority of our clients now believe that 2018 will be a continuation of the  current market, albeit 2017 is the “bottoming out” phase completed.

 

Drilling down into individual sectors, it is pleasing to see Financial Services, Real Estate and Energy all hiring  again. Conversely, Retail and Consumer Goods are still on ‘go slow’ mode, while technology, healthcare and  education investment is steady. Government spending in Abu Dhabi has re-commenced and Saudi Arabia’s  transformation of the public sector is in full swing – with numerous entities created to deliver the National  Transformation Program 2020 and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

 

Our view is that over the last 2 years, public and private sectors have taken all the necessary action to  streamline their organisations and are now ready for the next period of growth in the region. The timing of  decision making will continue to be effected as regional events (out of their control) unfold.

 

Finally, salaries and bonuses tend to be classified into pre 2015 and post 2015 (in reference to the oil price  plunge in Q4 2015). Candidates now accept that figures are different in the new era – there is not as much  push back. The challenge for all organisations entering 2018 is how to manage annual increases, given the  introduction of 5% VAT. The general view will be that 5% VAT is still a lot less than the high level of personal  income tax payable in most countries.

 

Click here to see our 2018 Middle East Salary Survey.

 

About PageGroup http://www.page.com/

 

PageGroup is a world-leading specialist recruitment consultancy with four decades  of expertise. It has more than 140 offices in 36 countries, comprising of three core  brands: Page Executive, Michael Page and Page Personnel.

Key Stats:

• 6,750 Staff Worlwide
• 25 Specialist Business
• GBP 621 million – 2016 Gross Profit

A lot has changed in the last forty years at PageGroup and the recruitment industry  as a whole. One thing that remains unchanged is the commitment to the professional  success of our clients, candidates and employees.

 

Michael Page Middle East

 

Our Middle East business operates across all three brands: Page Executive, Michael Page and Page Personnel. Established in the Dubai International Financial Centre in 2006,  PageGroup works across the entire region from 2 main office locations, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Over the last 10 years, PageGroup has developed a strong position within the market resulting in a total headcount of over 50 employees and a management team with more  than 100 years of PageGroup experience.

Key Stats in 2017:

• Michael Page Middle East worked on 1,664 jobs in 2017, which is 6% higher than 2016
• We have more than 100,000 candidates in our database
• www.michaelpage.ae has more than 90,00 unique users every month
• We have launched two new disciplines in 2017: Digital and Healthcare & Life Sciences