What are employers looking for in a potential employee? Are employers intending to hire for the upcoming year? What are the job roles they are hiring for? Which industries are attracting or retain top talent across the MENA region?

Bayt.com has recently conducted the Job Index survey to identify key trends in the MENA job market for 2021 and provide an understanding of required skill sets and qualifications in the region.

Key Findings:

• Good communication in English and Arabic (60%) as well as being a team player (42%) are the top sought-after skills by employers.
• Sales Executive (18%), Accountant (16%), and Sales Manager (14%) are the top roles that employers are hiring for in the coming quarter.
• Business Management (23%), Engineering (21%) and Commerce (18%) are the most sought-after academic qualifications amongst employers.
• Oil/ Gas/ Petrochemicals (76%), Advertising/ Marketing/ Public Relations (73%) and Engineering/ Design (72%) demonstrated the highest intention of hiring in the next year.
• Banking/ Finance (28%) and Advertising/ Marketing/ Public Relations (28%) are seen as the top industries that attract or retain talent across the MENA region.

Data for the Middle East Job Index Survey was collected online from 10 December 2020 and 10 January 2021. Results are based on a sample of 920 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Sudan among others.