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The GCC recorded a 7.7 per cent increase in job creation in the first quarter of 2022, up from 2 per cent in the previous quarter, driven by hiring in the public, legal, banking, advisory, real estate and cloud sectors, according to a new report.
The 2 per cent increase in job creation in the fourth quarter of 2021 was a reflection of the market during the holiday period, recruitment specialist Cooper Fitch said in its Gulf Employment Index report, which monitors new job activity and employment trends.
“The GCC looks set for a very positive employment year in 2022, with each country focused on delivering against their medium- and long-term strategies around job creation,” Trefor Murphy, founder and chief executive of Cooper Fitch, said in the report on Monday.
“We are forecasting high single-digit growth across each of the Gulf countries for the year ahead.”
The jobs market in the UAE, the second-largest Arab economy, has made a strong recovery from the coronavirus-induced slowdown as a result of the government’s fiscal and monetary measures.
About 76 per cent of employers in the UAE plan to expand their workforce in 2022, a February survey by jobs portal Bayt.com and market research company YouGov found.
About two thirds of professionals in the UAE will look for new jobs in the first half of this year as business confidence and hiring activity return to pre-pandemic levels, recruitment company Robert Walters said.
Industries in the GCC that recorded the biggest increase in hiring in the first quarter of 2022 included advisory, the public sector, real estate, legal, banking, software development, cyber security and digital marketing, the Cooper Fitch report found.
“Advisory firms were busier this quarter, with a 14 per cent increase in jobs on the last quarter due to it being the start of the year and a higher amount of spending coming from the public sector across advisory, consulting and strategy,” it said.
“The public sector increased its investment across multiple industries, which has led to an all-time high in hiring across government entities with a 9 per cent increase in jobs in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the fourth quarter of 2021.”
Meanwhile, the GCC also recorded growth in the number of jobs related to environment, social and governance (ESG), digital transformation and real estate in the three months to the end of March, the report found.
There was a 17 per cent increase in the number of cloud-related jobs across the Gulf region in the first quarter, the recruitment consultancy said.
The GCC also reported a 9 per cent increase in cyber security jobs in the first quarter, “which will continue due to the upcoming football World Cup in Qatar and the rapid development of smart cities in Saudi Arabia”, according to Cooper Fitch.
“There is a big push for software engineers for in-house teams as many businesses are reaching the next stage of their tech maturity model, where they are no longer relying on external companies for their development needs but instead on in-house teams,” Mr Murphy said.
The GCC banking sector recorded a 14 per cent increase in job activity in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2021, the report found.
“We expect this to continue this year as a number of banks in the region have made announcements regarding a huge increase in hiring,” Mr Murphy said.
The increase in mergers and acquisitions activity in the GCC is leading to an increase in demand for lawyers who specialise in those activities, Cooper Fitch said.
“Due to salary increases at the end of Q4 2021, newly qualified associates are now being paid higher than before. This will be the biggest cost increase for companies as they look to ensure they can retain the best junior talent.”
There is a big push for software engineers for in-house teams as many businesses are reaching the next stage of their tech maturity model
Trefor Murphy,
founder and chief executive of Cooper Fitch
Legal jobs in the private sector increased by 18 per cent in the first quarter, while in-house legal jobs were up by 13 per cent, Cooper Fitch said.
Meanwhile, a high number of initial public offerings in the region resulted in 3 per cent growth in job creation for investment managers in the first quarter.
High growth sectors in the GCC for jobs in 2022
- Advisory
- Public sector
- Real estate
- Legal
- Banking
- Software development
- Cyber security
- Digital marketing
- Cloud computing
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Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
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Biog:
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Favourite superhero: Batman
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Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
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