SALARIES IN THE ARAB GULF

What you should know as a job seeker

The cost of living in the Arab Gulf is outstripping salary increases, leading to an increasingly unsatisfied workforce and a more volatile job market. Salaries in the region increased by 15% on average in 2006, but the cost of living shot up by 24% - and living expenses went up the most in the UAE. That was the verdict of a survey  jointly conducted by Bayt.com/YouGovSiraj. The survey interviewed a cross-section of employees in the six GCC countries across more than 20 industry categories, from automotive to pharmaceuticals.

Kuwait comes in with the highest average monthly salary in the Gulf, US$3,100. Saudi Arabia is second with US$3,000, and the UAE is in fourth place with an average monthly pay packet of US$2,750.

Employees in Qatar are the most unsettled according to the survey, holding an average of 2.4 jobs in the last five years. And job-hopping across the region is most pronounced in the advertising, tourism, PR, travel and IT industries.

Employers in Qatar and Kuwait awarded the highest pay rises in 2006, an average of 17%. The UAE was second on the list with 15%, but the Emirates recorded the biggest cost-of-living jump in the Gulf, 28%.

Looking at the regional picture, workers in the private sector fared better than their government peers, earning an average pay hike of around 17% compared to approximately 13% for public sector employees.

The banking and finance sector awarded the most generous raises in 2006, increasing salaries on average by 19.5%. Healthcare professionals (excluding doctors) were among the least pampered, receiving only 11.2% more pay last year.

Despite double-digit raises, most Gulf professionals want more - and employees in the UAE and Bahrain consider themselves the most deserving. The raise they felt they 'deserved' in 2006 was put at 33% reflecting the higher cost of living in both countries.

Employees were the least demanding in Saudi Arabia, where the average 'deserved' pay rise was recorded as 27%. Overall, public sector employees in the GCC feel the most unsung, claiming they justified a pay hike of 39% on average in 2006.