Lebanon employers give mixed picture on hiring this fall

By TK Maloy

BEIRUT – A cautionary note to recent graduates and others on the employment market, a recent survey shows the Lebanese employers are in a mixed hiring mode this upcoming economic quarter.

In a survey conducted by regional job portal Bayt.com and YouGov, a research and consulting organization, companies polled said they were less likely to recruit staff in the coming three months as well as in the coming 12 months. The poll was conducted in June and July 2013, and interviewed about 3,430 persons residing in the MENA region and in Pakistan. The Bayt sample included 120 respondents in Lebanon.

Results were released on the 20th of August.

According to Bayt, 23 percent of responding firms in Lebanon do not plan to recruit new employees in the coming three months compared to 17 percent of responding firms that did not plan to recruit in the January 2013 survey. In comparison, only 15 percent of respondents across the region do not plan to recruit in the coming three months.

Lebanon has the third highest percentage in the category of "not hiring" among economies covered by the survey, with Syria and Bahrain having a lower share of respondents who do not plan to recruit at 35 percent and 28 percent, respectively.

Results of the survey show that 27 percent of respondents in Lebanon plan to "definitely hire" in the next three months compared to 38 percent of respondents who were planning to do the same in the January 2013 survey. In comparison, 30 percent of respondents in the region are planning to "definitely hire" in the next three months.

Also, 23 percent of respondents in Lebanon said they are "likely to recruit" in the next three months compared 25 percent of participants who had the same opinion in the January 2013 survey. In comparison, 25 percent of responding firms across the region are "likely to recruit" in the next three months.

For Bayt, this still spells opportunity. "The fact that are many jobs coming from small-to-medium sized local companies is a good sign …. as this signals that smaller entrepreneurial ventures are more comfortable hiring than they were in the beginning of the year," said Suhail Masri, Bayt's VP of Sales.

Several medium sized employers contacted agreed, adding that the challenge was finding the right talent and even just getting candidates to apply.

"They (potential candidates) never asked us! We have been looking for suitable candidates for months now and yet to find a Copywriter. We had open vacancies for sales staff, customer service, and now soon a production manager and more support staff." Brian Ghantous, director of the online discount-deals sales firm GoSawa.comm said.

"We even joined the LAU job fair to get CV's and advertise our openings. Although we received many CV's, many candidates were either not suitable, did not show up to interviews, or proved unreliable in their probation period."

Ghantous added, "Yes, we are a small and growing company, but candidates must look beyond the large multinational firms as there are promising careers that they are overlooking."

Hani Asfour, a partner at Polypod (polypod.com), an integrated design firm, echoed the same note, saying, "Polypod is certainly hiring in the fall. We'll be making a decision on a senior architect in the next couple of weeks. We will be also looking for additional designers and architects in the fall, as long as the work-stream remains steady, even if a bit slower than last year."

Over a longer term, 24 percent of respondents in Lebanon plan to "definitely hire" in the next 12 months, down from 35 percent of respondents in the January 2013 survey and 36 percent of participants in the August 2012 survey. In comparison, 31 percent of responding firms in the region plan to "definitely hire" in the next 12 months.

Bayt reported that regionally, the majority of jobs will be for junior executives, executives and managers. Employees with qualifications in business management, engineering, and commerce are most in demand, while the most desirable skills for regional job seekers are the ability to communicate well in both English and Arabic; the ability to be a team player; and good leadership skills). Candidates with experience in managing a team, computer skills, and sales and marketing are also sought after.

"The trend continues that more companies are looking to hire junior executives and executives, which is good news for graduates and first-time employees. That there are a number of upcoming jobs in the private sector should contribute to resolving regional unemployment issues by providing new graduates with career opportunities," said Sundip Chahal, CEO, YouGov.

The MENA's most attractive industries are perceived to be banking and finance, construction and telecommunications the survey reported.