UAE salaries to increase by an average of 3% in 2022-report

Employees in the UAE are expected to see an average salary increase of 3 per cent in 2022, according to a report by recruitment agency Cooper Fitch.

The Cooper Fitch UAE Salary Guide 2022 report, which surveyed 600 UAE organisations, found that 43 per cent of them plan to raise their employees’ salaries in 2022. This is owing to a resurgence in the employment market and economy as a result of Expo 2020 Dubai, and the UAE government’s successful management of the coronavirus outbreak.

Among those planning to hike wages, 35 per cent said the rate of increase will be between zero to 5 per cent, while 4 per cent of firms will boost salaries by 6-9 per cent. Up to 5 per cent plan to raise their employees’ wages by 10 per cent or more.

The report also found that 37 per cent of organisations are not planning to make any changes in their employee salaries in the coming year, while 19 per cent of the respondents said they will be decreasing salaries in 2022 by up to 10 per cent.

Meanwhile, 85 per cent of the respondents said that they had increased or made no changes in their employees salaries this year.

From those surveyed, 41 per cent of the firms which included advisory, HR, manufacturing, technology, startegy and public sector were among who made increase in 2021.

Outside of salaries, up to 63 per cent of organisations said they gave their employees a bonus in 2021, up 44 per cent compared to 19 per cent last year.

Up to 74 per cent of the respondents also confirmed that they intend to pay out bonuses in 2022, with 46 per cent looking at offering one- two months’ gross salary and 21 per cent planning to offer three to five months’ gross salary. Only 26 per cent said they weren’t going to pay bonuses next year.

“The UAE saw a significant recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic with a strong response from the government who quickly and efficiently rolled out vaccination programmes. This allowed restrictions to ease, tourists to enter the country and the capital to open its border, which contributed to easier movement between the emirates for both residents and tourists,” the report said.

“The UAE is a highly developed market with a broad range of industry sectors and consumer trends, which affect the economy and jobs market. Many of the UAE’s traditionally strong sectors such as tourism, real estate, and aviation were hit hard during the pandemic but have since started to see a positive recovery with announcements of rehiring for both airlines and the hospitality sector,” it added.