Gulf salaries lag cost of living

Gulf Talent has released its annual survey of salaries and cost of living, Gulf Compensation Trends 2008. Some findings:

• Average salaries in the Gulf increased by 11.4% this year, compared to 9.0% last year
• Sectors enjoying the highest pay rise were construction and banking
• Job categories having the biggest raise were Engineering and Finance
• Drivers of pay rise include growing competition for talent, weak US dollar, and rising inflation particularly in rents
• Average rents in the Gulf increased by 19% this year

Read the press release, and the full report. From the press release:

The UAE and Qatar topped the list of pay rises with increases of 13.6% and 12.7% respectively.

From the full report:

Inflation %, 2008 forecast

Bahrain 9.0%
Saudia Arabia 11 .2%
Oman 13.5%
Kuwait 13.5%
Qatar 14.2%
UAE 15.2%

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit