Cooper Fitch's 2017 Salary Guide for the United Arab Emirates

DUBAI, UAE, February 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Welcome to Cooper Fitch's Salary Guide for 2017 which covers professional (mid to senior level) jobs across the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Cooper Fitch is a specialist recruitment firm based in the UAE offering recruitment, HR advisory services and executive search, servicing clients throughout the Middle East since 1997.

We are delighted to present our findings and share valuable insights into the region's employment and salary trends found in key sectors. This guide summarises our salary expectations and recruitment forecasts for the coming year and we base all of our salary predictions on information provided by organisations located in the UAE, as well as market observations from our own experts.

2016 was a flat year economically (approximately 1-2% GDP growth) and this was reflected in recruitment activity, with slower job creation and consolidation in some sectors leading to job losses. We have seen salaries reduced or remaining flat in certain industries and it has been a particularly tough year for the banking and energy sectors. Banking remains uncertain for 2017 with a significant number of mergers planned for the next 12 months. Overall, the economy was sluggish, due in part to poor consumer confidence and low commodity prices. The number of new jobs coming onto the market was lower than in 2015, resulting in a softening of salaries for the year as a whole.

The outlook for 2017 is improving and market sentiment looks reasonably positive. Cooper Fitch estimates GDP growth of between 4-6% across the UAE, with oil prices predicted at between US$55-US$65 per barrel. We expect to see increases in salary levels and new jobs being made available following a better than expected finish to 2016 and a similar start to 2017.

We are seeing new hires for the year ahead, with jobs in consultancy, advisory, legal, strategy and tax, along with big infrastructure projects, playing a major part in the recruitment drive for 2017. Other areas, such as supply chain and manufacturing have also shown signs of recovery, but to a lesser extent, as have the energy and oil and gas sectors, with reasonable job creation and head count approval predicted for 2017. The imminent introduction of VAT in the UAE, and across the GCC, is believed to be the biggest contributor for job creation in the year ahead.

Overall, we predict that salaries will rise by between 4-6%, dependent on the GDP and commodity prices outlined above. However, by reading the commentary in this guide, you will see that there are significant differences in recruitment forecasts according to sector (with some more likely to perform better than others), directly impacting salary performance. We hope you find the insights presented in this report interesting and beneficial, and we welcome any feedback.

Cooper Fitch is the new name for Morgan McKinley in the Middle East. We specialise in jobs for the following industries - accounting, sales, marketing, banking, digital, tax, legal, audit, strategy, compliance, supply chain, construction, technical sales, manufacturing, engineering, supply chain and technology.

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