Online recruitment agency GulfTalent.com latest employment report ‘Pay, Inflation and Mobility in the Gulf’ has just been released. It reveals that rents in Dubai have risen much faster than salaries and that savings rates in the UAE are relatively low, with 43% of expatriates reporting no savings. The report concludes that these factors have failed the stem the tide of expatriates coming to find work in Dubai.
UK-based Macdonald & Company, the leading recruitment consultancy focusing solely on the property industry, has announced the opening of its first Middle East office in Dubai. The move is expected to significantly boost the company’s international presence as it looks to leverage the thriving property market in the Middle East.
A survey conducted by online recruitment agency GulfTalent.com finds that salaries in Dubai and UAE have increased by 10.3% in the year to August 2006. The main factors contributing to the increase were economic growth, rising living costs, weakness in the US dollar and a strong Indian economy.
Starting today, workers in the public sector will move from a Thursday-Friday weekend to a Friday-Saturday weekend.
Residents have known it for a while, but now its official; Dubai is one of the most expensive cities in the world. Mercer, the consulting arm of Marsh & McLennan released their annual Worldwide Cost of Living Survey today. The 2006 figures rank Dubai as the 25th most expensive city in the world, a big jump from its humble position of 73rd last year.
Rising rents, caused by an influx of expatriate workers, have been the major factor contributing to the change. However, the large number of residential developments in the pipeline should see prices fall within the next few years.
Moscow replaced Tokyo as the world’s most expensive city.
The Dubai Ministry of Labour has expanded its policy of Emiratisation and given private companies 18 months to replace their expatriate secretaries with UAE nationals.
Human resources managers are also singled out, with the government hoping that Emiratis in these positions will be more inclined to hire locals. Companies in free zones, such as Dubai Media City, are exempt.