Beirut, Lebanon, 25 January 2016: According to the recent “Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa” survey, conducted by Bayt.com, the number one career site in the Middle East, and YouGov, a pioneer in online market research, the banking/finance industry experienced the strongest growth in Lebanon in 2015.
The survey found that 40% of respondents in Lebanon believed that the banking/finance industry has experienced strong growth over the last year. Respondents also recognized real estate (26%), construction (23%) and advertising/media/PR/publishing (18%) as industries with significant growth.
According to the survey, banking and finance emerged as the industry which is the most attractive to women (46%) in Lebanon, followed closely by education/academia (45%). Advertising/media/PR/publishing (35%), as well as hospitality/entertainment/tourism (28%) were also popular industries.
Most Attractive Industries
The banking/finance sector emerged as the industry that attracts the highest proportion of national talent according to 38% of respondents in Lebanon. This was followed by hospitality/entertainment/tourism (25%) and advertising/media/PR/ publishing (24%). According to the poll, 36% of respondents in Lebanon view the government as a favorable employer of choice, 19% of which perceive it as “extremely favorable”; however, 18% view it as “extremely unfavorable”.
Industry Satisfaction
Close to a third of respondents in Lebanon are satisfied with their current/most recent salary packages (30%), inclusive of non-monetary benefits, 6% of which claim to be “completely satisfied”. However, close to one in five of those surveyed (19%) are “completely dissatisfied” with their current/ most recent salary package.
Almost one third of the respondents in Lebanon (32%) are satisfied with their career growth, while 22% are “neither dissatisfied, nor satisfied” and 21% are “completely dissatisfied”. In terms of maintaining a work life balance, close to half of the respondents in Lebanon are satisfied (45%), with 8% being “completely satisfied”. Just 12% of those surveyed are “completely dissatisfied”.
An impressive 50% of respondents in Lebanon are satisfied with their work culture, 59% with their working hours and 50% with their job security. In fact, 39% of respondents are “somewhat satisfied” with their work culture, while 11% are “completely satisfied”. Close to one in five (17%) of respondents are “completely satisfied” with their working hours, while a mere 10% are “completely dissatisfied”. 20% claim to be “completely dissatisfied” with the job security offered by their industry.
In terms of training and development, 9% of respondents in Lebanon claim to be “completely satisfied” and 34% “somewhat satisfied” with the programs available to them. However, another 34% of respective respondents are/were “somewhat or completely dissatisfied” with the training and development programs in their companies.
Most Stressful Industries and Industries With the Longest Working Hours
Military/defense/police/security services emerged as the most stressful industry for 32% of respondents in Lebanon. Hospitality/entertainment/tourism, healthcare/medical services/pharmaceuticals, and transportation were also perceived as stressful sectors by 21%, 20% and 17% of respondents respectively. On the other hand, internet/e-commerce, charity/volunteer work, and automotive were observed to be the most stressful industries only by 1%, 2%, and 3% of respective respondents.
Hospitality/entertainment/tourism tops the list for the longest working hours for 36% of respondents in Lebanon, followed by healthcare/medical services/pharmaceuticals (31%).
Seeking Employment
The most popular industry for respondents who are currently seeking employment, across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is IT/electronics/telecommunications (9%). Conversely, the least popular industries for job seekers are real estate, charity/volunteering work, management consulting and agriculture (all at 1%).
The banking/finance sector hires the highest proportion of fresh graduates in Lebanon, according to 38% of the respondents. Other industries with a propensity for hiring fresh graduates include advertising/media/ PR/publishing (29%), hospitality/entertainment/tourism (28%), and IT/electronics/telecommunications (22%).
Switching Industries
Another major finding of the survey is that only 27% of MENA respondents have changed their industry in the last two years. This was certainly the case in Lebanon, where 75% of respondents have not changed their industry in the last 24 months. For those who have changed industry across the MENA region, better salaries (37%), better opportunities for career growth (32%) and lack of recognition (30%) are the top three reasons for their change.
Close to half of those surveyed in Lebanon are considering an industry change in the next few months (43%), while 42% of the respondents “don’t know/can’t say”. For 61% of the MENA respondents who consider an industry change, a higher salary is the top reason, while 39% consider enhanced career growth opportunities as an important reason for changing industries.
Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions at Bayt.com, said: “It’s a very good sign that 50% of respondents in Lebanon are satisfied with their work culture. Over the years, more and more companies are becoming aware of the importance of that, and branding their work culture in order to attract and retain amazing talent. At Bayt.com, we have been helping the top employers brand their companies as top places to work for years now, and we encourage organizations to have a professional online profile for their companies. We are also well-versed in meeting the very specific human resource requirements across these industries. Our annual Top Industries in the MENA report empowers us to understand the opinions of professionals in the Middle East and North Africa regarding their own industry and various other industry sectors in the region, delivering vital statistics that make a difference for employers, employees and recruiters alike.”
“More and more people across the Middle East and North Africa are looking at a variety of industries as the top employment options,” said Elissavet Vraka, Research Manager, YouGov. “In Lebanon, the most popular industries in terms of perception are not the same as the most popular industries where respondents are keen to find employment.”
Data for the Bayt.com ‘Top Industries in the Middle East and North Africa’ survey was conducted between November 22 and December 8, 2015 with respondents from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.