A research conducted by Mercer predicts a 5.4% salary increase on the average for employees in the Middle East. The study is called Total Remuneration and shows that the inflation rates in the region are lower than those of the average pay. That is a sign that ME countries are developing extremely well.
Along with that survey was published another one titled Salary Movement Snapshot. It is based on the payment plans of about 570 global companies from over 75 different countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Also, information was gathered from every employee group – from blue collar and white collar workers to managers and senior executives.
The most diverse predictions are for the Middle East and Africa. However, that is because these regions are constituted of countries that vary in terms of economy power. Some of the countries with the highest payment raises are Algeria with 6.8%, Tunisia with 5.3% and Morocco with 4.9%. Others will enjoy even bigger increase. Those are, for example, South Africa (7%) and Egypt (10%). On the average, employees in Africa will see a raise of 8% in 2013.
In contrast, companies in Western Europe are planning lower pay increases of 2.6%. That figure has dropped with 0.01% compared to last year. However, things are different in Eastern and Central Europe. There, the average salary increases are estimated at 4.6%. In the Middle East, on the other hand, salaries will jump with 5.4% by the end of the year.
In the Gulf region, pays are expected to increase with about 5-6%. The highest salary boost in the area will be in Saudi Arabia (6%), followed by Kuwait with 5.4%, Qatar with 5.2%, Oman with 5.1% and the UAE and Bahrain with 5% each. Researchers point that the numbers have not changed in the past two years. According to them, this shows that the region has a well-developed business environment and a stable economy.
Mercer’s Zaid Kamhawi, who is ME Business Leader for Information Product Software, stated that consumer inflation plays a big role in pay increases. Also, Kamhawi explained that companies need to focus more of their attention on the rates of inflation when they plan their payment levels.
Last year, in the Middle East and in some other regions, were witnessed pay freezes. This tendency is predicted to continue in 2013. It is also reported that 5% of all companies on the region’s market will try to freeze salaries in 2013.
