Doha and Dubai most competitive cities for jobs

Unsplash/Brooke Cagle

• Average Doha job post on LinkedIn got 399 applicants in first week
• Dubai number was 283 with Abu Dhabi at 149
• Qatar has sixth highest average monthly salaries in the world at $3,954

Doha and Dubai are the top two most competitive cities in the world for applying for new jobs, according to a study from online resume builder Resume.io.

The Gulf cities boasted the highest number of candidates per LinkedIn job posting in February this year.

In Doha, the average listing received more applicants (399) within a week of being posted than anywhere else in the world. In Dubai the number was 283.

• Qatar ramps up recruitment drive ahead of World Cup
• Skills shortage pushes up Gulf tech leaders’ salaries
• UAE corporate tax arrival triggers recruitment fever

Abu Dhabi was ranked fifth (149), while Tel Aviv (83) came in at number 10.

The demand in Doha was attributed to the Fifa World Cup, which was hosted by Qatar at the end of last year.

A surge in economic activity in the last quarter of 2022 lifted Qatar’s annual GDP growth to 4.8 percent – a level unseen since the middle of the last decade, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Qatar, which does not tax personal income, also has the sixth highest average monthly net salaries in the world at $3,954, as per data from Numbeo.com.

World’s top 10 ranking average monthly net salaries by country

1	Switzerland		$6,112.25
2	Luxembourg		$5,086.48
3	Singapore		$4,939.60
4	United States		$4,243.89
5	Iceland		$4,185.91
6	Qatar		$3,954.98
7	United Arab Emirates		$3,565.04
8	Netherlands		$3,503.19
9	Denmark		$3,485.19
10	Australia		$3,372.61

A universal minimum wage was introduced in the build-up to the World Cup.

Neighbouring Dubai, which also has no income tax, has introduced a raft of reforms to attract talent to the emirate, including various residency visa initiatives. 

The emirate also saw its population increase to 3.6 million, growing 2.3 percent year-on-year, according to the Dubai Statistics Centre’s latest data.

The population is forecast to rise to 5.8 million by 2040, according to the emirate’s Urban Master Plan.

“Both cities (Doha and Dubai) have seen significant growth in industries such as finance, hospitality and tourism, real estate, construction and healthcare,” Alex Koumi, managing director of Kingston Stanley, said. 

“In addition, a number of marketing and digital agencies are looking to build stronger client servicing teams in Dubai. 

“These sectors have been actively recruiting skilled professionals due to the rapid development and expansion of infrastructure and services in both Doha and Dubai.”

A report from New York’s professional services firm Mercer ranked Dubai 18th globally for cost of living, 13 places higher than it was last year.

Despite this, Trefor Murphy, founder and CEO of Cooper Fitch, a recruitment agency in Dubai, said that new applicants for jobs is reaching record levels in the city, up 12 percent in the past 12 months.

“Dubai is becoming increasingly more attractive for people to move here,” Murphy said.