Bayt.com and Yougov: 76 Percent of SMEs Will Be Hiring in Next 3 Months

The latest installation of the bi-annual Bayt.com Middle East Job Index Survey reveals a positive outlook for the job market in Jordan. The survey found that a majority (83%) of companies in Jordan intend to hire new employees in the next year, with seven in 10 (70%) saying they will be hiring in the next three months.

The Bayt.com Job Index, released bi-annually and conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, and global online market research company, YouGov, is an in-depth study that tracks job availability and hiring trends in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market and provides an understanding of the required skills and qualifications in the region.

Jobs in the Next Three Months

For companies in Jordan looking to hire in the next three months, more than four in five (83%) say they will be hiring for ‘up to 20 jobs’, while 8% say they will be hiring for ‘up to 100 jobs’, while the remainder are unsure how many jobs they will be hiring for in the short term. The greatest demand in the coming three months will be for ‘junior executives’ (44%), ‘executives’ (27%), ‘coordinators’ (25%), ‘senior executives’ (24%), and ‘managers’ (15%).

Across the region, ‘small/medium local companies’ in the private sector took the leading spot in terms of hiring potential, where 76% of them said they will be hiring. Meanwhile, industries that are most likely to hire are: ‘Consumer Goods/FMCG’ (81% are planning to hire), ‘Real Estate/Construction/Property Development’ (80%), and ‘Hospitality/Recreation/Entertainment’ (78%).

Jobs in the Next 12 Months

Regionally, ‘small/ medium local companies’ as well as ‘multinational companies’ seem to have the highest hiring potential in the long term, where 89% of them said they will be hiring in the next year. In regard to specific industries that have the strongest hiring plans for the next 12 months, ‘Business Consultancy/ Business Management’ (97% are planning to hire), ‘Consumer Goods/ FMCG’ (95% are planning to hire), ‘Hospitality/ Recreation/ Entertainment’ (94% are planning to hire), ‘Banking/ Finance’ (93% are planning to hire), and ‘Commerce/ Retail/ Trade’ (92% are planning to hire) were the top five.

What’s in Demand: Skills, Job Roles, and Academic Qualifications

In terms of candidates’ skills that are in demand this year, communication was key for companies across the region. In Jordan, good ‘communication skills in Arabic and English’ emerged as a top skill to look for in a candidate for 78% of employers, with 58% saying being a ‘team player/cooperative/helpful/flexible’ is also a top skill. These were followed by a good ‘overall personality and demeanor’ (51%) and being ‘trustworthy and honest’ (50%).

Regarding educational and academic qualifications, ‘business management’ (31%), ‘engineering’ (20%), and ‘information technology’ (18%) emerged as the most sought-after qualifications amongst employers in Jordan, followed by ‘science’ (15%), ‘commerce’ (15%), ‘teaching qualifications’ (15%), and ‘computer science’ (15%).

For employers in Jordan looking to hire, nearly four in ten (36%) say they are looking for experience in ‘sales and marketing’, with nearly the same amount (35%) seeking ‘managerial’ experience, and another third (34%) seeking ‘junior level experience of less than three years’. Meanwhile, just over a quarter (27%) are looking for candidates with ‘mid-level experience between 3 and 7 years’, with another quarter (26%) looking for candidates with ‘IT/computer’ experience.

“Perceptions of the job market in the Middle East and North Africa are more positive for 2018, with employers predicting improvements in hiring potential in the immediate future,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com. “At Bayt.com, we are really excited to work with tens of thousands of employers to help them recruit their top talent of choice. We are constantly improving our recruitment tools and getting feedback from clients to make it easier than ever before to hire for the skills they need. In fact, we just launched the Bayt.com Small Business Plan, which provides our recruitment suite to employers with budget constraints. Now, and as we look at the survey findings, we are delighted to see these hiring trends moving in an upward direction and we are looking forward to work with even more companies, organizations, and governments to facilitate hiring activities in the short as well as the long term.”

As for the most appealing industries in their country, respondents in Jordan believe the industries attracting and retaining ‘top talent’ are ‘Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations’ (41%) and ‘Banking and Finance’ (35%).

“The Middle East Job Index is critical in understanding the region’s hiring climate and job market. The entire region has seen an upward trend, and in Jordan, we’re seeing the same positive growth. It is also worth noting that with so many local SME’s planning to hire this year, growth of this vital sector seems to be a priority in 2018,” said Nehal Jibouri, Head of Custom Research, YouGov.

Data for the February 2018 Middle East Job Index Survey was collected online from 5^th December 2017 to 28^th January 2018. Results are based on a sample of 1,883 respondents, 1,641 of whom were of working status, from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, and Pakistan.