Dubai no longer 'golden goose' for jobs

Thursday, 28 January 2010 6:40 AM

Recruitment consultancy Kershaw Leonard has said that while Dubai will still appeal to job hunters in 2010, it was no longer the "golden goose" it once was.

Mike Hynes, managing partner at Kershaw Leonard, said he was seeing "a lot more" hiring activity in Abu Dhabi than Dubai, and a general willingness by job seekers in Dubai to commute or even relocate to the capital, provided accommodation can be found.

However, he added that the overall sentiment in Dubai remained upbeat.

"Generally there is more confidence, more activity, more things going on," Hynes said in comments published by website Ameinfo. "But people are still being cautious about recruiting and cautious about moving jobs."

Hynes said hiring and salary trends in Dubai varied depending on the industry, adding: "Nothing has really changed in the finance and human resources areas. They were not very badly hit in 2009, and continue to remain strong for us now."

But he said that in the construction sector, employers wanted to pay lower salaries, but employees wouldn't move for less money. "So it's a bit of a stalemate. People who have a job are hanging on to it," he said.

Kershaw Leonard also said that job candidates living in the emirate had a huge advantage over those living overseas.

"It's quite tough to get a position from anywhere outside of Dubai right now. For the most part, there are a lot people who have the experience and expertise for mainstream jobs. They are a much lower risk than bringing someone in from, say, the UK," Hynes said.

He added that Dubai was fortunate that it had so much talent already in the emirate, as the lure of the city among job seekers overseas had fallen.

"I think the image of Dubai has been badly tarnished, and it is no longer seen as the magnet that it once was. I do think that there will always be people who will be keen to come here, but it's not the golden goose anymore," he said.

Bassam Gazal, head of Mercer's survey practice in the Middle East, told Ameinfo that companies in Dubai could be under the most pressure to raise salaries in 2010 as competed with firms in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi for the best candidates.

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Posted by: Peter Saturday, 30 January 2010 5:59 PM[UAE]

Richard, in 5 minutes I could find 3 bed places in nice parts of Singapore and the rent is still less than a 3-bed in the "older" parts of Dubai like The Springs. Dubai is "cheap" if you're in a very priveliged position (young, single, job in the likes of law or consulting) but as soon as you add wife and kids in the mix the whole ball game changes. My wife could earn 3 times what she earns here in Singapore - you see women don't get paid much here in all but a few professions. Schooling just gets more expensive here despite the outflow of people. And buy a week's shopping here is at least double what it is in Singapore, plus the "fresh" stuff is usually old and skanky. If you have any money left, eating/ drinking out here is unbelievable, I came here from London and I wince at what I spend when converting back to pounds.

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Posted by: Omar Saturday, 30 January 2010 12:16 PM[UAE]

It's good to compare fairly for own sake! Comparison: 1 bedroom in CENTRAL Stockholm - St ericsplan ( i used to live there - Building # 1 - apt 104!!): 4,000 crows - around 2000 Dhs! That's cheaper than the smallest studio in the suburbs of Dubai! As for petrol, u do not need a car bcz there is the super tunnelbana which is even cheaper that Dubai Metro (monthly ticket)! Office rent: You can rent in Kulture Husse area (one of the best business areas in stockholm) for less than what u pay in any part of Dubai Restaurants: Even TGFriday of Odolf Palme Gattan is slightly cheaper than TGF Dubai. As for taxes, do not forget that u get health insurance, free schools ( just paid 10,000$ cash for my 1-year old son's nursery), college loans, social coverage, a strong passport, and a peaceful life in Scandinavia. Stockholm, the city on water, is almost the most stunning, cleanest and well- structured city on earth. I moved to Sweden as an investor until i found out that it's too quiet for me - People are so passive and not talkative at all. In terms of costs and business opportunities, it's not bad at all by all European standards. Having said that, salaries in Dubai are indeed much higher than Stockhom. The standard of living is higher for some here and much lower for labourers. I am not sure about shopping. Dubai festival still offers good bargains but not much cheaper than Stockhom (but not much more expensive as u said)! In broef, UAE like any other place still offers opportunities on a case by case basis. Of course, it's much harder to find a job in UAE nowadays. So is the case all over the world!

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Posted by: Fahad Saturday, 30 January 2010 10:36 AM[UAE]

I presume Richard has no idea what life in Dubai means for most middle class people. Salaries are definitely lower than in Singapore for most jobs except those catering to western expats.Also, while cars & petrol are costlier in Singapore, in Dubai, education / house rentals are more expensive. Also Singapore gives a chance to resident to gain citizenship, which provides for some peace of mind

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Posted by: Dan Saturday, 30 January 2010 3:54 AM[UAE] - Sweden

Well Richard you must be one of the few. Almost no one on this site has talked about Dubai being cheap. As a frequent tourist to Dubai (3 times a year for 6 years) I have seen the price increases. I stopped shopping in Dubai from 2006 when it got more expensive then Sweden. After 2006 there was almost nothing I could buy or rent cheaper in Dubai. No cloths, watches, shoes, accessories, electronics, hotel rooms, car rental, apartment rent, restaurants, bars and so on. Taxi fare and gas has always been much cheaper in Dubai but that?s it. Sweden has 52% total tax, which must be one of the highest in the world. Workers have high pay. Anything you buy has a 25%tax on it, cars, food EVERYTHING. Gas cost 6,5 Dirham/Liter. How comes that despite all this high costs Sweden is cheaper than Dubai? Cloths, food, restaurants, bars and you can rent a 3 bedroom apartment with high standard for 5000 Dir/month. I think the 2004 prices were and still are the realistic prices the city should have. Anything above that is superficial and that is crippling Dubai since 2006.

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Posted by: BRANDO Saturday, 30 January 2010 3:49 AM[UAE] - UK

Very good point Jumeirah John, that's exactly what will happen if it remains too expensive for workers to live in Dubai/UAE Dubai is very dependant on foreign skills and manpower and it always will be, if the cost of living becomes too much for workers then people will up sticks and go elsewhere, not good news for Dubai and its longterm ambitions of expansion. There are other expensive places where a very transient workforce just manages to keep it ticking over but the lack of quality and loyal staff shows! A tricky position to be in but that's the reality of it.

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