Working in the Gulf countries can be tremendously exciting and rewarding at the same time. For international job seekers who are looking forward to making a career for themselves in one of the Gulf countries, the job search strategy needs to be smarter. Thanks to the growth prospects that are offered by the Gulf countries, people from all over the world are attracted to the job opportunities available there.
Some of the popular industries in the Gulf market have been listed below:

  • Oil and Gas
  • Banking or Financial Services
  • Food Beverages
  • Construction/Civil Engineering
  • Manufacturing
  • Retail
  • Information and Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Sales

As far as job creation is concerned, Saudi Arabia tops the list among all the other Gulf countries. According to the survey that was carried out by GulfTalent.com, there has been a significant rise in the creation of jobs over the past year as compared to the year 2010. As the government spending in Saudi Arabia is more and so is the economic growth, job creation here has been more.
The increase in the percentages of job creation in the year 2011 according to the various Gulf countries has been tabulated below:

Country Percentage Increase
Saudi Arabia 0.62
Oman 0.56
Qatar 0.51
Kuwait 0.51
UAE 0.37
Bahrain 0.08

Percentage of Expansion in the Various Sectors:

The percentage of expansion in the various sectors of the Gulf countries have been tabulated below:

Industry Percentage of Expansion
Oil and Gas 0.63
Retail 0.6
Healthcare 0.61
Construction 0.27
Real Estate 0.33
Engineering 0.46
Transport and Logistics 0.41
Travel and Hospitality 0.43
Telecom/IT 0.5
Banking 0.28

Salary ranges in Dubai:

The salary ranges in Dubai according to the various job titles have been listed below:

Telesales and Marketing 3000-10000
House furnishing AED 35000 (roughly)
Teacher Indian school 1500-5000
Restaurant Manager 5000-15000
Nursery School Teacher 1000-8000
Construction worker 500-1500
Lawyer 25000-200000
Doctor 15000-75000
Cabin Crew 5000-11000
Civil Engineer 10000-75000
Cook/Chef 1000-10000
Airline Pilot (Captain) 30000-45000
Editor newspaper 10000-75000
Teacher government school 2000-6000
General Manager (hospitality) 25000-45000
Front Desk Staff (hotels) 5000-15000

Top companies in Gulf countries:

The top companies that offer high salaries in the Gulf countries have been listed below:

  • PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • JPMorgan Chase
  • Cisco Systems
  • Central Bank of Oman (CBO)
  • Estee Lauder Companies
  • HSBC
  • Mackenzie Jones
  • Saudi British Bank (SABB)
  • Olive Group
  • Saudi Arabian Mining Company
  • Emirates General Petroleum Corporation
  • Methanol Chemicals Company
  • British Petroleum
  • Oman Oil Company Exploration Production
  • National General Insurance Company

Cost of Living:

Before applying for a job in the Gulf countries, it is important for the job seekers to know about the living expenses there. This will enable them to know exactly how much money would be required for someone to survive for a month and the salary negotiations can be done accordingly. The average cost of living in the Gulf countries has been tabulated below:

Purpose Expenditure
AED 450/month (during winter)"
House Rent (2 Bed Rooms) AED 100000 140000 per year
Petrol AED 800/month
Food AED 3000/month
Telephone/mobile AED 500/month
House furnishing AED 35000 (roughly)
Internet AED 200/month

Salary Components in the Gulf Countries:

The components of the salary in the Gulf countries have been broken down into the following sections:

  • Basic Salary
  • Transport Allowance
  • Accommodation
  • Furniture Allowance
  • Utilities (water + electricity)
  • Bonuses
  • Insurance
  • Vacation Allowance
  • Leaves
  • Education Allowance (for the children of the employees)

Top countries for employment:

Some of the most preferred Gulf countries for employment are as follows:

  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • Qatar
  • Bahrain
  • Oman
  • Kuwait