Average MidEast salaries seen rising 6.3% in 2012

Average salary increases on more than six percent are being predicted in the Middle East next year, Aon Hewitt, the global human resource consultants have said. Its annual Salary Increase Survey (SIS) said companies in the Middle East are projecting wage rises of 6.3 percent in 2012. Within the GCC, it said companies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are expecting the biggest growth at 5.9 percent each. Across the broader Middle East region, companies in Egypt, Yemen, Jordan and Lebanon anticipate the highest rises in 2012, with Egypt projecting salary increases of 10 percent, nearly double the average of 5.4 percent in the GCC. Globally, companies in India and China are among the most optimistic, estimating increases of 12.8 percent and 9.6 percent respectively. Dr Markus Wiesner, Aon Hewitt's Middle East CEO, said: "Recent macro events appear to have affected the GCC and the broader Middle East less than other parts of the world, when looking at expected salary rises. "As one might expect, companies in India and China are even more optimistic. We believe the research provides a good litmus test for the general optimism within businesses in the region at the current time." The Aon Hewitt survey is an annual survey conducted globally, with about 280 companies participating across the Middle East. In August, a Bayt.com survey said more than 40 percent of Middle East professionals fail to save anything from their household income. The results of the Bayt.com MENA Saving and Spending Trends poll showed that only 18.3 percent of Middle East execs manage to save between 1-10 percent of their income. The result are in line with the latest Bayt.com Consumer Confidence Index survey, in which the overwhelming majority of Middle East professionals claimed that their salary increase was not keeping up with the cost of living. Outside of housing costs (which includes rent or mortgage and utilities), 40.8 percent of respondents claimed their biggest expenditure was on food, and 15.6% said it was on school fees. Transport, travel and clothing racked up a collective 23.6 percent of costs, the survey showed.