Salaries in Qatar forecast to increase by 4.5% next year
DOHA: Salaries in Qatar are forecast to increase by 4.5 percent next year, according to the latest GCC Salary Increase Survey by human resource and management consultancy firm Aon Hewitt.
Although companies in Qatar have predicted the lowest increase in the Gulf, that outlook is higher than the recorded salary growth of 3.6 percent this year.
The study, which surveyed 600 GCC multinational companies and locally-owned conglomerates, has forecast that salary earnings will increase an average of 4.7 percent next year, demonstrating a more optimistic outlook across the board as GDP growth is also expected to climb in the year ahead.
The same survey noted that this year the region saw an average salary increase of 4.3 percent, which although positive, is down from an anticipated 5 percent increase.
Companies based in Saudi Arabia noted the highest projection for salary increases in 2017 at an average of 4.9 percent; an increase on this year";s actual 4.6 percent climb.
Kuwait-based organisations have estimated salaries to rise by 4.8 percent, an increase from this year";s 4.3 percent climb although down from a 5.1 percent increase last year.
Companies operating in Bahrain have registered the third-highest salary increase projection, reaching an average of 4.7 percent.
Although optimistic, that falls just under the growth rate of 4.8 percent this year.
UAE and Oman-based companies projected an average salary increase of 4.6 percent. Oman";s outlook for 2017 shows a marked increase from its latest 4.2 percent increase noted this year.
For the UAE, this marks a slight increase from the 4.4 percent average salaries growth this year.
The survey said salaries have been largely influenced by fluctuating oil prices and states"; initiatives to diversify national economies.
While this year proved to be a challenging period for economic expansion in some markets, over the next few years new policies governing inflation, taxation, diversification, and commodity pricing are anticipated to come into effect and lead to a general upswing in GCC salaries.
As governments cut back on subsidies, refocus spending on large mega-projects, and with the announcement to introduce a region-wide VAT of 5 percent in January 2018, real GDP growth is expected to climb across the region next year to 3.3 percent—up from 3 percent this year—according to the IMF.
The survey notes that actual salary increases this year have been highest for Pharmaceutical, Media, and Food/Beverage/Tobacco industries.
The industries with lowest salary increases this year are Telcos, Construction and Oil & Gas, although salaries in these sectors are expected to rebound next year.
The Peninsula