Cost of living reports middle east: UAE recovery gathering steam

Difference between Western and Asian expatriate salaries in the UAE decreasing

Dubai, UAE: Less than 12 months, last year's Cost of Living Report findings showed the UAE's economic recovery was well underway.  Lessons learned post-bubble have since helped shape new legislation, with changes echoing throughout both the private and public sectors.  Only six months later, the UAE won its Emerging Market status from the MSCI in June 2013, from its longstanding position as a Frontier Market.  Today, at the start of Q4, the Cost of Living UAE Report 2013/2014 is showing that despite some remnants of the pre-recession maelstrom of speculation starting to creep back in; the economy is stronger and more robust than ever and the future looks very promising.

Nick Nice, Head of Global Operations at the Cost of Living Middle East team said: “The global and regional labour markets both have a key role in this recovery.  We are witnessing an influx of labour, based on the compound effect of a slow economic recovery in developed economies, combined with political turmoil in neighbouring MENA economies.” 

He went on to say: “The push on the labour markets from within these foreign economies is being complemented with the ever-present pull that the UAE provides due to its openness and cultural diversity, compared to neighbouring Arab states.  That combined with the tax-free incentives, appeal to expatriates from all over the world.”

The Cost of Living Middle East's Head of Analysis, Rebecca Wilson, believes that these changes have caused the wage disparity between different ethnicities in the UAE to decrease.  She said: “This year's Cost of Living UAE Report findings show that the difference between the traditionally higher Western expatriate salaries versus Asian expatriate salaries is in fact abating.  As nice as it would be to declare that it is because we have attained a more benevolent social utopia within the corporate world; it is due to the unwavering global economic forces coming into play, and the fact that the recession in the developed world has simply outlasted the recession in the developing world. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

She went on to say: “On the other hand, developing economies such as the Indian economy are screaming out for qualified labour, because of their sustained growth rates.  As a result, there's less emigration to the UAE.  Consequently, the difference between a typical Westerner's salary and a typical Asian's salary is continuing to reduce.  The empirical proof of this is all around us.  We're more frequently seeing Westerners working in bars, restaurants and retail chains and, reciprocally, we are seeing more Asians in the office environment than ever before.”

Referring specifically to the analysis in the 2013/2014 Cost of Living UAE Report, she said: “We invest thousands of man-hours across our research team to construct our Cost of Living Reports, enabling our clients to focus on their core business.  Our paramount objective is to provide accurate information to HR and finance decision makers responsible for their local UAE workforce.  We construct our reports with quantitative analysis, socio-political insight, along with our take on the economic and legislative implications of changing costs; giving our foresight on what to expect in 2014 and beyond.  With a 10-year track record in the region, our accuracy is unmatched,” she said.

Responsible for the global growth of Cost of Living Middle East, Nick Nice was delighted to add: “Along with the exciting addition of our new office in Chicago, we are really pleased to announce the release of the first ever, highly-demanded KSA & regional GCC Cost of Living Reports, which appear to be a first of their kind within the region.”

For more information on the Cost of Living Reports, visit www.costoflivingreports.com.