The much-anticipated annual Bayt.com YouGov Middle East Salary Survey has now been released and is available online on Bayt.com. What difference does a year make? Quite a bit of difference when the year is 2008 as the Salary Survey results show. The Survey highlights trends in Middle East salaries and cost of living and sheds light on key behavioral issues and perceptions related to current economic conditions.

Just a few of the interesting findings:-

1. 7% of professionals in the GCC are highly satisfied with their salaries, compared to 5% in the Levant and 6% in North Africa
2. 38% of professionals in the Levant are dissatisfied with their salaries, compared to 30% in the GCC and 34% in North Africa
3. 60% of GCC residents receive housing allowance compared to 4% in the Levant and 5% in North Africa
4. The average raise received across all MENA respondents in 2008 was 13.5% but 26% of professionals in the GCC did no receive a raise compared to 21% in both the Levant and North Africa
5. The average perceived increase in the cost of living in 2008 in the MENA region by contrast averaged 34%
6. While rents across the region were reported to have increase by 26%, the cost of food was perceived to have increased by 33% and entertainment by 27%.
7. The highest savings rates in the MENA region were reported in the GCC at 15% versus 9% in the Levant and 11% in North Africa.
8. Quality of life considerations the Survey revealed will induce the largest group of people in the GCC (44%) to shift to a higher paying industry rather than move to a higher paying company in the same industry (35%)
9. 14% of GCC respondents indicated that quality of life considerations will induce them to return to their home countries in the next 12 months.
10. Opportunities for career progression were cited across the region as the most important factor besides pay in driving loyalty towards the organization
11. 32% of surveyed professionals in the GCC indicated that their companies were reacting to the current economic conditions by restructuring job profiles so that fewer staff handle the business requirements. Moreover 34% are experiencing hiring freezes in their companies and 37% of companies are cutting down on unnecessary expenses.

For salary and cost of living levels in UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Levant and North Africa please refer to the online complete version of the 2009 Middle East Salary Survey on https://www.bayt.com.