Road to Recovery: GCC Registers 30 Percent Increase in Online Hiring in Q3 2018

According to the latest whitepaper research by Monster Gulf, online hiring in the GCC has registered a 30 percent increase during the third quarter of 2018. The Monster whitepaper analyzes online recruitment and industry trends over the last six years across the region.

In line with the whitepaper results, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently raised the economic forecasts of all the GCC countries for 2018 and 2019. In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the IMF estimates that the UAE’s fiscal position is predicted to strengthen by 2.9 percent, while Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are expected to grow by over 2.3 percent each in 2018. Bahrain, which recently received $10 billion in financial aid from neighboring GCC states, is projected to record a 3.5 percent increase in GDP growth by the end of this year.

According to the whitepaper, despite experiencing a slight decline from Q1’18 to Q2’18, online recruitment demand in the GCC has been steadily increasing on a quarterly basis since Q4’17.

Source: Monster Gulf Whitepaper 2018

Commenting on the whitepaper findings, Abhijeet Murkherjee, CEO of Monster Gulf, APAC, said: “. The growing online hiring trends experienced across the GCC region can be largely attributed to the various reforms and stimulus packages being rolled out by regional governments to advance the non-oil sector. Furthermore, we are now seeing structural reforms across the GCC, as opposed to revenue injections, which underlines the regions’ determination to taper off its oil dependency and achieve long-term economic sustainability. Economic and market diversification will play a significant role in the continued recovery of the GCC. Reforms designed to promote the private sector, such as the introduction of long-term visas for professionals and easier licensing requirements for new businesses, will catalyze market competitiveness and job demand.”

Economic structural reforms have been put in place across the region to strengthen the business climate in the GCC and improve market competitiveness, consequently progressing economic diversification and driving job creation. According to the latest GCC whitepaper by Monster Gulf, the technology sector is the top hiring industry of 2018 at 40 percent growth from the same period last year. This coincides with recent announcements of smart city projects across the region – including Sharjah’s $6.5 billion ‘Aljada Smart City Project’ and Kuwait’s eco-friendly ‘Saad Al Abdullah City Project’ – which have generated job demand within the technology sector.

Source: Monster Gulf Whitepaper 2018

“The high demand for technology professionals is no surprise given the rapid digital transformation of the GCC in recent years and the recent announcements of smart city megaprojects. Furthermore, customer demands are evolving putting pressure on businesses to offer more digitalized services and creating opportunities for IT professionals. Given these developments, it will be interesting to see how the GCC job market will react next year. Although it may be slow, the road ahead appears to be positive and we can feel optimistic for 2019 as we prepare for a busy and vibrant 2020,” concluded Mukherjee.

According to the 2018 Monster Gulf whitepaper, other industries actively hiring online across the region this year include Consumer Goods and Oil and Gas which both registered a healthy 22 percent growth each. This was followed by Production (including Manufacturing) and Business, Financial Services and Insurance which increased by 17 and 16 percent respectively. Education recorded a 12 percent surge, while Chemicals, HealthCare and Hospitality all profited from equal growths of 8 percent. Engineering (including Construction) and Retail (including Trade and Logistics) experienced increases of 7 and 3 percent respectively. According to the latest research, Advertising (including Public Relations and Media) witnessed a slight drop of 2 percent.