December 7, 2016

Muscat: Salaries in Oman are expected to rise by three per cent in 2017, according to a survey.

Data from Hay Group Paynet reveals that salaries in Oman grew by four per cent in 2016. Though 2017 may witness a slowdown, salaries are still expected to rise.

In 2016, after adjusting for inflation, salaries grew by 3.1 per cent and will rise in 2017 by 1.8 per cent. Wages are adjusted for inflation by subtracting percentage salary increase with inflation in that particular year.

The data is collected from more than 20 million job holders in 25,000 organisations across 110 countries.

The UAE is set to see the slowest real wage growth of 0.5 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait at 0.8 per cent each, Oman and Bahrain both at 1.8 percent while Qatar will perform the best in the GCC with 2.1 per cent real increase in salary.

Job market has suffered in the GCC region with oil prices falling sharply since 2014. A recent survey by Monster showed a steep decline in job postings. According to a report for job listings in October, Oman posted its first decline in job postings in six months.

According to an HR manager in a leading firm in Oman, job market certainly witnessed a slump with lesser government projects than usual.

“There has been significant restructuring in companies in Oman and that has led to a lot of people losing their jobs. Some people are offered new contracts with lower salaries to increase revenue while retaining manpower. I don’t think such a survey has taken into account decrease in salaries, else it would have been hard to register a four per cent increase in 2016,” he said.

Officials from an HR company said they did not agree with the survey as they haven’t seen any such rise in salaries.

Mohammed Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan, the general manager of a private company in Muscat, said a lot of companies are finding it tough to pay salaries on time. “But with oil prices going up, there is hope that salaries will increase,” he said.

A managing director of a construction company said there was little likelihood of salaries going up in 2017.

“Many projects are on hold and we don’t know if the situation will continue for long. Sooner or later, the impact will be felt by all the players in the market. Taking this into account, I doubt that companies will afford offering a raise to their employees in 2017,” he said.

“The first quarter of 2017 is very important to Oman. If there is dramatic improvement in the first quarter, then there is a chance,” they admitted.

© Times of Oman 2016