Over half of the employers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region plan to hire new employees over the next three months, with a little over a quarter of the respondents (26 percent) in Saudi Arabia saying that they would "probably" be recruiting, while one third (33 percent) said that their organizations would "'definitely" be recruiting in the next few months, the latest quarterly Bayt.com Jobs Index survey showed Monday. Job seekers in Saudi Arabia might be more fortunate at finding work in a year's time, with 71 percent of the country respondents said they will be hiring in 12 months' time and only 2 percent said the opposite. Employers noted that "business management" graduates or postgraduates stand the best chance from those that are likely to be hired. According to the study, 26 percent of organizations from Saudi Arabia favor employing staff that are qualified in this field. Furthermore, graduates or postgraduates in "engineering" and "commerce" are equally sought after by organizations in Saudi Arabia - with 25 percent and 21 percent respectively - of the respondents citing that recruits in these fields as greatly required. The trend continues as organizations claim to be more on the lookout for people to fill in lower executive positions like "junior executive" (37 percent) and "executive" (29 percent). "Being able to communicate in both English and Arabic" is considered a desirable trait that employers look for when selecting new staff according to the study. A good 76 percent of respondents in Saudi Arabia agreed this is what they look for most in a potential new employee. Being "cooperative, flexible, and helpful team player" is also important for the region's organizations, with 51 percent of the respondents noting that these qualities as being necessary characteristics employees should possess. "Overall personality and demeanor" was also cited as appreciated attributes by 49 percent of the survey's respondents, while 45 percent claimed that having a desire to make a difference was an extremely essential quality as well. However, the survey noted only 4 percent of the respondents said they would definitely not be hiring in the next quarter. The Jobs Index survey is conducted to gauge perceptions of job availability and hiring, to identify job trends and to provide an understanding of the key skill sets and qualifications required in the MENA region job market. Countries within this region noted various preferences as reasons for hiring during the Jobs Index survey. Overall, employers in Saudi ARABIA and Qatar seemed slightly more likely to hire than others, as 33 percent and 31 percent respectively stated that their organizations will "definitely" be recruiting new staff in the next quarter. When respondents were asked how many job positions their organizations would fill in the next three months, 45 percent said that less than five jobs would be available, while 23 percent said that between six and ten jobs would be available in the coming quarter. "The level of regional hiring activity remains relatively encouraging given the regional economic backdrop however it is clear that in some parts of the region companies seem to be favoring a climate of cautious cost-consciousness specifically in terms of HR growth. This continues to favor hiring activity on Bayt.com as evidenced by our latest job counts as employers across the Middle East are aware that they can use our jobsite's industry leading tools to gauge the latest market salary levels and find the region's top talent for key positions in the fastest, easiest and most cost-efficient manner," said Amer Zureikat, VP Sales, Bayt.com. Sundip Chahal, CEO, YouGov, said "when recruiting, the region's organizations place much more emphasis on key skills such as fluency in the first language of the region, in addition to teamwork, personality, loyalty and honesty. By looking at the figures, it's evident that employers will not instantly choose a candidate just based on qualifications alone." Furthermore, the Job Index is gauged by asking the respondents what their hiring expectancy is in a year's time, which develops the Hiring Expectancy Index (HEI). Suggesting widespread optimism for the future, 67 percent of the MENA region's organizations expect to hire in the long term. In the UAE, only 3 percent said they will not be employing in a year's time, while 65 percent said they would hire new staff. Additionally, respondents in Algeria were also highly confident that their organizations will be hiring in the future - 33 percent said they would certainly recruit in a year's time. However, the lowest figures among all of the surveyed countries in terms of propensity to recruit in a year's time were shown in Morocco at 22 percent and in Bahrain at 19 percent. Moreover, when asked how to rate their current country of residence as an attractive job market compared to those across the rest of the region, respondents in the UAE, followed by Qatar were the most optimistic about their country - 44 percent and 43 percent respectively said their country of residence was the most attractive job market in the region. In Saudi Arabia, 42 percent said the country was much more attractive. The respondents were also asked to name which industries they feel are attracting or retaining top talent in their country of residence today. As in the previous wave,"telecommunications" (35 percent) took the lead followed by "banking and finance" (34 percent) and "construction" (32 percent). The survey was done in conjunction with research specialists YouGovSiraj.
