Finance still most popular jobs sector: survey

TOP DESTINATION: DIFC (pictured) is the symbol of Dubai's status as a financial centre. (Getty Images)

Among UAE professionals, 30 percent still cite banking and finance as the preferred sector to work in, despite the global financial crisis, making it the top choice.

That was the conclusion of recent research conducted by regional employment website, Bayt.com in conjunction with research specialists YouGovSiraj.

Construction and real estate were the second most popular industry choices in the UAE with 26 percent and 25 percent of workers expressing their preferences for these sectors, the Top Industries survey, released on Wednesday, claimed to show.

Publishing, aerospace, the charity sector, police and military, power generation, and transport and travel featured amongst the least most popular industries, the survey found.

Corroborating the popularity of the banking and finance, 10 percent of all those surveyed had either moved to the industry or were planning to, the highest amongst all industry choices.

Respondents in Kuwait also cited the banking and finance sector as the most preferred, as did Jordan.

By contrast, respondents in Saudi Arabia listed oil, gas and petrochemicals as the favourite, with 49 percent feeling it offered the greatest benefits to employees.

"These figures may represent a response to the popular perception that if an industry is seen to be financially deficient, then people are less likely to want to enter it. This is proven by the oil and gas sector - it is one that is seen as the most profitable and is one of the most popular choices in terms of industries to move to," opined Nassim Ghrayeb, CEO YouGovSiraj.

The survey revealed that in the UAE 18 percent of respondents had changed industry in the past 24 months and 36 percent are currently considering a change.

"Interestingly, an outstanding 40 percent of respondents in the UAE cite the government sector as an extremely favourable place to work," the Bayt.com/YouGovSiraj statement concluded.

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