Salaries in the UAE are expected to rise by 5.7 per cent in 2012, while they increased by an average of 5.5 per cent across all industries during 2011 compared to 4.4 per cent the previous year, said a report.

According to the Towers Watson research, announced at the company’s annual Middle East HR Forum, of the GCC countries in 2011, Saudi Arabia had the highest average salary increase of 6.2 per cent, followed by Qatar (5.8 per cent), Kuwait and the UAE (5.5 per cent), Oman (5.3 per cent), and Bahrain (5.0 per cent).

Egypt led the way in the Mena region with a 10 per cent growth, while Bahrain saw the smallest increase at 5.0 per cent.

The research shows private sector salary increases were higher overall in 2011 than the previous year and the number of companies in the region freezing salaries dropped significantly compared to the previous two years.

“The data provides some interesting insights into rewards and compensation trends, particularly how salaries have continued to increase despite the economic and political turmoil that has affected many countries in the Mena region,” said Billy Turriff, business leader for Data, Surveys and Technology at Towers Watson Middle East.

“With overall remuneration levels increasing in 2011, more organisations are using bonuses and allowances to differentiate their rewards offerings against the competition. Next year we expect pay increases to be approximately 0.5 percentage points higher than 2011,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service