JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia outpaced most countries in the Gulf Cooderation Council (GCC) region in online job opportunities medium-term growth, according to the Monster Employment Index. The employment index in the region rose 29 percent over the six-month period with four percent gain between February and March. Qatar. followed by Saudi Arabia, registered the largest growth rate but no figures were given. Engineering, construction and real estate, with oil and gas on their heels, are the most improved sectors between October and March. Engineering and production professionals record the greatest six-month growth The Monster Employment Index is a monthly gauge of online job demand in Middle East based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of corporate career web sites and job boards, including Monstergulf.com. The initial results of the Monster Employment Index for the Middle East region are encouraging, said Sanjay Modi, Monster.com managing director for India, Middle East and South East Asia. Strong pockets of demand in production and engineering-related occupations have led to robust expansion in the number of online opportunities over the past six months, a trend likely to continue as business conditions improve globally, he said. He said the industry month-over-month trends showed that 11 of the 12 industries monitored by the index exhibited improved growth trends. Engineering, construction and real estate rose 34 percent to top the six-month growth chart in March as the sector gained an additional one percent over the February index. BFSI rose one percent to maintain steady growth despite the employers easing back on recruitment after bullish hiring in February. Production-manufacturing, automotive and ancillary industries went up 25 percent and continued to be among the leading sectors in medium-term growth, suggesting sustained positive demand in the consumer-driven industries. Retail, trade and logistics went up nine percent but slipped back to the January level, although it continues to surpass the October level by significant amounts. Consumer goods, food manufacturing and packaging, home appliances, garments, textile, leather, gems and jewellery sector were down five percent and posted as the only sector to experience a net decline in online opportunities between October and March. Online demand for workers in March exceeded the October level in seven of the 11 occupational categories. Engineering and production rose 33 percent to record the strongest growth in demand while hospitality and travel rose 17 percent to maintain a robust six-month growth rate despite a five-point monthly decline in online demand. Finance and account dip three percent below the levels posted in October. Software, hardware and telecom were down 16 percent, the steepest six-month dip in demand among all occupational groups. In country month-over-month trends, six out of seven countries recorded positive growth in March. Qatar was up 34 percent with Saudi Arabia at 31 percent and led all countries in terms of six-month growth. Oman is up 31 percent to take third place, Egypt down seven percent on a month-over-month and six month basis amid a nationwide climate of political transition. Bahrain registered 14 percent growth which in isolation is a respectable growth rate.
