UAE salary guide 2023: How much should you be earning?

Two of the biggest questions many employees ask themselves at the beginning of a new year are: how much can I expect to earn this year and will I get a pay rise?

This year is no different, particularly as the jobs market in the UAE continues to rally on the back of strong market confidence, a boost in foreign direct investment and companies accelerating hiring plans to attract the best talent, recruitment specialists say.

“On a broader level, the UAE’s jobs market has enjoyed its strongest year in a decade, with higher-than-anticipated demand across the public and private sectors,” Trefor Murphy, founder and chief executive of Cooper Fitch, says in the recruitment consultancy’s 2023 UAE salary guide.

Some of the stats behind the UAE's hiring boom

“This activity has been fuelled in no small part by the healthy position in which the nation’s government finds itself, as well as its success in incentivising local and international funding for large projects.”

The UAE jobs market has made a strong recovery from the coronavirus-induced slowdown, boosted by the government’s fiscal and monetary measures.

The UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, has undertaken a number of economic, legal and social reforms to strengthen its business environment, increase foreign direct investment, attract skilled workers with new visas and provide incentives to companies to set up or expand their operations.

It has also introduced an unemployment insurance programme, which came into effect on January 1.

As the demand for talent in the UAE continues to accelerate, we look at the salary and employment outlook for jobseekers for the remainder of 2023. Read on to find out and check out our guides above for a detailed look at salaries in your industry.

UAE salaries likely to rise by 4.4% in 2023, study finds

Will salaries increase in 2023?

The outlook for salary increases for employees in the UAE this year is positive, with recruitment experts forecasting an average rise of between 2 per cent and 5 per cent.

However, this depends on an employee's role and sector.

Employees in the financial services and legal sectors can expect the highest salary increases in 2023, with an average rise of 5 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively, recruitment consultancy Robert Half says in its 2023 UAE salary report.

This is followed by the technology industry, which is expected to record an average 3 per cent salary increase, while finance and accounting professionals will receive a 2.5 per cent wage rise and the HR sector a 2 per cent increase, it adds.

Meanwhile, a survey by jobs portal Bayt.com and market research agency YouGov this month found that 53 per cent of employees in the UAE expect to receive a salary increase this year.

About 70 per cent of employees in the Emirates believe their salaries will either increase or stay the same in 2023, according to the poll, which surveyed 2,941 people from countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan, from November 16 to 28.

An increase in opportunities, economic growth, intense competition in attracting and retaining talent and good corporate performance or improved profitability were some of the reasons cited for the expected rise in salaries, the poll found.

“Based on market confidence and therefore more aggressive growth and diversification plans, organisations shifted up a gear and their appetite to invest in attracting top talent increased significantly,” Jon Ede, regional director of Michael Page UAE, says in the company’s 2023 UAE Salary Guide and Hiring Insights report.

“We have also seen a significant return to foreign investments with businesses looking to expand their international footprint into the UAE.”

Are companies planning to pay annual bonuses in 2023?

It’s good news for many employees hoping to receive a bonus in 2023, with almost 75 per cent of business leaders who responded to the Cooper Fitch salary guide survey saying they plan to reward staff for their hard work over the past 12 months.

However, 26 per cent of respondents will not be paying an annual bonus, the majority of which represented the logistics and supply chain sector.

Thirty-six per cent of respondents to the survey say they expect to pay a bonus equal to one month’s gross salary, while 20 per cent plan to pay two months’ gross salary.

Meanwhile, 10 per cent of respondents will pay staff a bonus of up to three months’ salary, 3 per cent will pay four months and 1 per cent will reward employees with a five-month bonus.

“Employees working for 4 per cent of the companies surveyed this year can look forward to annual bonuses amounting to a generous six months’ gross salary,” Cooper Fitch says in the report.

“The sectors represented in this category include banking, financial services, investment management and consulting.”

Felicity Glover, The National