Long-term outlook on staying in the Middle East for jobseekers

Nearly three quarters of jobseekers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia would like to live and work in the Middle East for more than five years, according to a new survey from global recruitment consultancy Michael Page.

Close to 30 per cent said they would like to stay in the Middle East for more than 15 years.

Additionally, 64 per cent of respondents are positive about the current job market situation and 80 per cent of respondents are optimistic it will get better in the next six months, said the quarterly report.

The top three reasons respondents cited for living and working in the Middle East were career prospects, salary and standard of living.

Dubai remains the most attractive city for employment, compared to other cities in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

The data was collected on a voluntary basis from candidates who applied for a job or submitted a CV on the Michael Page website.

Of the 850 respondents, 76 per cent were male and 23 per cent female, mainly in managerial to executive level roles. More than 80 per cent were between the ages of 25 and 50 years old.

In terms of professional experience and education, 70 per cent had more than five years of experience and 85 per cent had college degrees.

Almost half of jobseekers said they were looking for new employment for a better salary package. Forty four per cent said their current role was not

The top three reasons for living and working in the Middle East were career prospects, salary and standard of living

offering opportunities for further development, 38 per cent wanted to broaden their responsibilities and 32 per cent were looking for a better worklife balance.

According to Michael Page’s 2019 salary survey released in January, the professional skills that are most in demand include data science and analytics, procurement and cost management, and governance and compliance.