Banks, financial firms on hiring spree in Middle East

• Demand for professionals jumped 65% in March

Monster Employment Index Middle East opines that job listings for the banking and financial sector climbed 38 per cent in the UAE. — Supplied photo

Dubai – Financial institutions and banks are hiring at the fastest pace in the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries as the regional economies show sign of improvement, according to according to the data released by recruiters Monster Worldwide on Tuesday.
Demand for banking and finance professionals jumped in March, with a 65 per cent increase in job postings from a year earlier while job listings for the same sector climbed 38 per cent in the UAE, the Monster Employment Index Middle East revealed.
“Banks are hiring as economies improve and infrastructure projects move at a rapid pace,” Sanjay Modi, managing director of Monster.com for India, Middle East, Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, told Bloomberg.
“Banks are needed to help with the financial planning of these projects and everything that goes with them,” Modi said.
“We continue to see an increase in demand for talent in the banking and finance industry, with online job listings for this sector increasing by 38 per cent year on year in the UAE and by 65 per cent year on year in the region. Finance and accounting positions are also in demand with an increase in online job postings of 43 per cent for the UAE market and 67 per cent for the region,” Modi said in a statement.
Online hiring in Saudi Arabia and Egypt is soaring, with an increase of 30 per cent and 28 per cent respectively, in job listings. The UAE registered a modest growth of 17 per cent, whereas Kuwait is the only Gulf country which registered a negative growth of seven per cent as compared to March 2014,” he added.
For those looking for a job in a creative industry, Saudi Arabia might be your best option, as the Kingdom’s Advertising, Market Research, Public Relations, Media and Entertainment Industry continues to lead with a 55 per cent increase in job postings in March 2015, as compared to the same period last year. With the positive growth of the economy and Tadawul’s potential opening to foreign investment in 2015, local and international firms operating in Saudi Arabia are excited at the prospect of promoting their products and services, which has led to a significant increase in demand for creative talent,” said Modi.
Hospitality, up 43 per cent, was the closest second in terms of long-term gain even this month. Nevertheless the growth momentum eased even in the hospitality sector; down 10 percentage points from 53 percent in February 2015.

Monster Index
Monster Employment Index Middle East continues its positive growth trend, with a 14 per cent increase in March 2015, as compared to the same period last year. The growth momentum went up five percentage points between February and March 2015.
The banking and financial services industry, alongside hospitality, are hiring the most. Demand for finance and accounting professionals in the Middle East is soaring, with a 67 per cent increase in job listings as compared to the same period last year.

KSA followed by Egypt lead all monitored counties by the way of long-term growth. Kuwait is the only country to exhibit a negative annual growth rate even this month.

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