The oil and gas sector in Saudi Arabia has witnessed 34% increase in online recruitment, which is indicative of a strengthening economy.
However, online recruitment in other sectors in the Kingdom have slowed considerably, said a report issued by Monster Employment Index (MEI).
While the November MEI figures record an overall decline in year-on-year momentum in Saudi Arabia — a 7% point decline from -12% in October to -19% in November — the oil and gas industry continues to lead growth in online recruitment in the Kingdom from the same period last year. This is followed by 10% growth in the education sector. The highest decline was observed in the hospitality sector at -41% reflecting the challenges the industry is facing at the regional level.
Sanjay Modi, managing director of Monster.com, APAC and Middle East, said, “While it is encouraging to see continued growth in the oil and gas industry, this is not projected to rise further amid supply cuts announced recently by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Companies (OPEC). However, as the Kingdom focuses on economic diversification, job opportunities in purchase, logistics and supply chain sector are likely to grow further in 2017.”
The outlook for 2017 is positive for jobseekers in Saudi Arabia, he said.
The MEI is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity in the Middle East based on a real-time review of tens of thousands of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career websites and online job listings. It does not reflect the trend of any particular advertiser or source, but is an aggregate measure of the change in job listings across the industry.
