The recent Middle East Job Index survey, compiled by the Middle East’s leading job site, Bayt.com, and research and consulting group, YouGov, has revealed that the majority of employers across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) intend to hire soon, with64% of them planning to hire in the next three months. Notable increases in hiring expectancy were witnessed in Jordan.
Hiring intentions in the next three and12 months
In the next three months, more than two thirds of Jordan employers (69%) are intending to hire, according to the survey. Private sector companies have the highest intention of hiring, with70% of multinational companies,69% of large local companies and63% of small or medium-sized local companies, ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ hiring.
When it comes to hiring by industry in the MENA region, over the next three months organizations in the banking/ finance industry present the highest intention to hire (74%), followed by the hospitality/ recreation/ entertainment (73%) and the telecommunications industry (71%). On the other hand, government/civil service have the lowest intention to hire in the same period (58%).
Looking to the future, eight in10 working respondents in Jordan (81%) claim that they intend to hire in a year’s time. Echoing the short term, private sector companies continue to have the highest hiring intentions in the long term, with77% of multinational and large local companies, respectively, and74% of small or medium local companies, ‘definitely hiring’ or ‘probably hiring’.
Among those who plan to hire in the next three months,40% indicate that they will be hiring for a maximum five jobs. A majority of companies in Jordan hiring in the next three months are looking to fill entry-level (18%) and C-Suite (14%) positions.
Qualifications, skills and experience employers are after
Graduate/post graduate degrees in business management (25%), followed by engineering (22%), are the most sought-after academic qualifications in Jordan. Employers in Jordan are also looking for employees with good communications skills in English and Arabic (82%), as well as candidates with good teamwork skills (53%) and the ability to work under pressure (53%).
In terms of experience, four in10 respondents state that they are looking for candidates with managerial experience (37%), while about three in10 (28%) are searching for those with sound administrative experience. Meanwhile, one in five (20%) is looking for candidates with sales and marketing experience.
Attractiveness of job market and industry
In Jordan, a quarter of respondents (26%) believe that their country of residence is more attractive as a job market than any other country in the region,36%, however, believe the opposite to be true. When it comes to the attractiveness of their industry as a potential employer,40% of Jordan respondents believe that theirs is more attractive than other industries in the region.
Banking/ finance (37%) and human resources (27%) emerge as the industries that attract top talent in Jordan. Advertising/ marketing/ public relations (25%), business consultancy/ business management/ management consulting (24%), education/academia (24%) and IT/Internet/e-commerce (23%), are also popular industries.
“The Middle East’s hiring outlook is looking quite positive, with64% of employed respondents planning to hire in the next three months;40% of whom will be hiring for up to five jobs. At Bayt.com, there are currently more than10,000 jobs posted on the website on any given day, giving job seekers the opportunity to find jobs in their industry, career and country of choice,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com.
“In parallel, organizations looking to hire can make use of the tremendous amount of recruitment that takes place via the Bayt.com CV Search functionality to meet their pressing hiring needs and fill their job vacancies quickly and efficiently,” he added. ”Recruiters and managers who are looking to hire new talents can try the Bayt.com CV Search functionality for free at www.bayt.com/en/search-cv/,” Masri concluded.
Almost six in10 respondents are employed in the private sector (56%),17% work for a multinational company, while13% work for the public or government sector, and17% are unemployed.
“The increase in the hiring expectancy throughout the MENA region is a positive reflection on the economy as a whole. By gauging the perceptions when it comes to the MENA’s job market, we can deduce that the private sector is expected to offer the most employment options in the next few months and be the driving force of job growth in the region. It is also interesting to note that employers place the greatest emphasis on language skills, particularly English and Arabic.” said Joao Neves, Senior Research Director, YouGov.
Data for the Bayt.com Middle East Job Index survey was collected online between June15th,2016 and August16th,2016, with a total of2,001 online interviews conducted with respondents from the following countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Pakistan.