Gulf Compensation Trends 2007

Gulf Talent, an internet recruitment service for GCC countries, have published an interesting report [pdf] into employment and compensation trends in the region for 2007. It’s interesting to see that Oman has recorded the largest increase in average salaries, and both Qatar and UAE are experiencing inflation rates of over 12%.

As a result, despite rising salaries, many expatriates have seen a fall in their net disposable incomes. Some are reporting that they are unable to make any savings on their salaries, even though higher saving potential has traditionally neen a chief reason for working in the Gulf.

The UAE had the highest reported proportion of non-savers at 41%. While Qatar and the UAE have both suffered high inflation rates, the ratio of nonsavers is substantially higher in the UAE, possibly due to greater abundance of consumer spending opportunities in retail and entertainment. More worryingly, 9% of UAE-based expats reported that their salaries did not even cover their living costs, forcing them to borrow or live off their existing savings.