MIDDLE EAST     RECRUITMENT

Middle East - Over 250 HR practitioners polled in the Gulf region said they were generally more confident about the business environment and their hiring plans in 2010, compared to the same time last year.

According to a survey by BAC Middle East, around six in ten said they were ""fairly optimistic" about the year ahead while 31% and 5% said they were "optimistic" and "very optimistic" respectively. Similarly, 54% of respondents, an increase from 37% in 2009, expect their organisations to hire this year with 35% saying they will "possibly" hire as well. Only 11% of respondents are not planning to hire this year. However, it was an improvement in confidence, compared to 27% last year.

Siobhan O'Reilly, recruitment manager at BAC Middle East, said employers are not "getting carried away" despite the general sense of positivity regarding the economy, compared to a year earlier. She predicts a change in the "balance of power in the labour market". Slightly under a quarter of employers polled said they expect skill shortages in 2010 while around two thirds said the balance would shift in favour of companies. There would be 'no significant change' in general salary levels because of that, said 76%. Only 21% said otherwise.

O'Reilly, however, said employers should probably not expect the labour market conditions to follow the same pattern as last year even though the heights of "candidate-driven market of early 2008" is unlikely. "We are starting to see early signs of candidate shortages in some key areas and the return to growth could result in acute skills shortages more rapidly than anticipated," she said. The pool of available local talent is also reduced with most of those who were retrenched in 2009 having found alternative employment or have relocated. 

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