JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s financial situation is stable and is the best place for seeking jobs, according to a consumer confidence survey conducted by Bayt.com in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Thirty-eight percent of Saudis who participated in the survey said the present financial condition was good, while 33 percent remained neutral in their opinion about the Kingdom’s financial condition.
Forty percent of Saudi’s participants said the job atmosphere in the Kingdom was positive, while 34 percent said there were many employment opportunities. However, 44 percent of Saudis thought that the number of employees had increased in their companies since 2011, while 42 percent said the number of workers remained the same or decreased. Fifty-six percent of Saudis stated that their salaries were not sufficient in meeting their living expenses whereas 21 percent expected improvement in their jobs. Speaking on job security, the majority of participants (63 percent) were neutral in their opinion, while half of them were not satisfied with their salaries. Among the Saudi participants, 59 percent had a neutral or negative viewpoint on the impact of living costs, while 33 percent said housing expenses were increasing.
Thirty-eight percent of the Saudi participants said they wanted to purchase a car next year, while 66 percent intended to buy property.
Bayt.com conducted the survey from July 16 to Aug. 1 through the Internet in collaboration with Yougov, an institute for research and consulting. A total of 7,421 people from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Pakistan participated in the survey. The survey highlighted growing job opportunities in the region. The response of participants in the survey was generally neutral toward their present living status, and only 28 percent of them replied that their financial condition was better than last year, while 65 percent said their earnings were not sufficient compared to their living status. The study revealed that job prospects in MENA countries were high, and Saudi Arabia is one of the best places to seek jobs.
Roughly 33 percent of participants thought the economic conditions of MENA states have declined compared to 2011.
As for employment opportunities, 49 percent thought employment chances had dwindled in these countries, yet most participants were optimistic about 2013, as 51 percent of them hoped the financial condition of MENA countries would improve, with 44 percent expecting a good economic situation and job market.
Suhail Misri, deputy sales manager of Bayt.com, said that although the present conditions in MENA countries were not so good, most people were optimistic about the coming years. As for employment, they were expecting a 24 percent increase in employees at companies within the next three years, though 61 percent of company executives did not think that would happen. In the case of inflation, 38 percent of participants thought that living expenses had increased in MENA countries, and 36 percent expected that real estate would remain expensive.
