Dubai: This is a good time to be a tech professional, with heavy demand for these skillsets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. More so if the individual is in cybersecurity services, data analytics or software development, according to a new 2023 job prospect survey by LinkedIn.
The UAE in fact has ample openings for software developers, with 3 out of the Top 10 positions being for such a role. Demand for tech talent has bucked a general dip in new hiring, which became pronounced in the final quarter of 2022 as businesses went into caution mode over concerns that a global recession is on the way.
The other in-demand hiring are for sales reps, with key service-focussed sub-sectors such as retail showing strong growth trajectory through the second-half of 2022. Industry sources say that sales positions were still being filled through December.
According to LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, ‘hiring in the UAE slowed down in 2022 by 10 per cent compared to the year before, which saw a significant post-pandemic hiring surge. Hiring is still significantly higher than it was in 2020 (by 37.1 per cent).”
Fast hires
Tech roles will not be the only ones running hot in the UAE and Saudi job markets. The ‘fastest growing job titles’ are in sales, sustainability-related positions and - interestingly enough given the slowdown in new hires - in HR roles. These include roles such as back-end developer, sales rep, environmental manager, and HR operations specialist.
Remote work still has takers
Another trend LinkedIn has spotted is growth in remote job postings in the UAE, averaging 27.7 per cent. This is a ‘figure that is one of the highest among the European, Middle Eastern, and African markets such as the UK (-1.6 per cent), Germany (-10.5 per cent) and France (-21.6 per cent)’, according to the digital platform.
Salary changes
The LinkedIn findings do not give an indicative range on salary structures for the sought after positions. But HR insiders say that latest recruitments of tech professionals, especially in the mid-level categories, came with ‘handsome’ salary packages and incentives. “The job losses in the US tech space is definitely not been replicated in the UAE or Saudi Arabia,” said a consultant. “The impression is that there are enough positions that need to be filled here to absorb all the talent that’s out there.”
Identical job titles across different seniority levels were grouped and ranked. Jobs where hiring was dominated by a small handful of companies in each country were also excluded. Additional data points for each of the job titles are based on LinkedIn profiles of members holding the title and/or open jobs for that title in the country.
