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those who supply products for food and consumer goods are benefiting from the high growth rate among the region’ s indigenous population. oil revenues. Data from the survey indicates that the Kingdom continues to be hard hit, with 45 % of participating firms expecting headcount reductions in 2017 compared with just 15 % of firms in the UAE.
This is consistent with the IMF’ s findings, which recently revised down its GDP growth outlook for Saudi Arabia from 2 % to 0.4 %. However, the Kingdom has embarked on the region’ s most ambitious economic reform initiative, the National Transformation Programme, which aims to significantly reduce the country’ s dependence on oil over the coming years.
Sector Variations
GulfTalent’ s survey found significant variations in the fortunes of different sectors across the region.
Manufacturers reported the most positive outlook, with 58 % of firms in the sector planning to grow staff numbers in 2017. The sector has been a prime focus of economic diversification efforts by governments over the last couple of years. Some surveyed companies cited streamlined regulations, strong logistics networks and proximity to export markets as factors contributing to their growth. Meanwhile,
Healthcare companies, including hospitals, reported the second highest rate of jobs growth, with 55 % of firms planning headcount expansion. This is also largely on the back of increasing demand from a fast growing population, further fueled by government investment and regulatory changes requiring employers to provide medical cover for their employees.
Banks are expecting a relatively positive year, with 44 % planning some increase in headcount. Only 8 % of surveyed banks plan to cut staff this year, in sharp contrast to 38 % who reported cuts in 2016. With the economic outlook more stable, some are taking the opportunity to fill specialist vacancies that were left unfilled last year due to hiring freezes. Furthermore, most banks are actively expanding their collections
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