BEIRUT: Lebanese companies intend to hire more staff over the next three months as part of their expansion plans, the Bayt.com said in its last report.

According to the latest quarterly Jobs Index survey conducted by the Middle East’s number one job site Bayt.com, in conjunction with research specialists YouGov, about 29 percent of the companies in Lebanon surveyed revealed that they would “probably” be recruiting, while 24 percent said their organizations would “definitely” be employing in the next few months. Only 5 percent of the respondents said they were not going to hire in the next quarter.

Employers stated that business graduates or postgraduates stand the best chance to be hired. According to the study, 28 percent of organizations in Lebanon favor employing staff that are qualified in this field.

Furthermore, graduates or postgraduates in engineering and administration and are equally sought after by Lebanon’s organizations – with 20 percent and 18 percent respectively of respondents citing that recruits in these fields as greatly required. The trend continues as organizations are the lookout for people to fill junior executive (37 percent) and executive (29 percent) positions.

“Being able to communicate in both English and Arabic” is considered a desirable trait that 54 percent of surveyed employers look for when selecting new staff according to the study.

Being “cooperative, flexible and a helpful team player” is also important for 54 percent of surveyed employers.

“Trustworthy and honest” were cited as appreciated attributes by 44 percent of the survey’s respondents, while 40 percent considered “having good leadership skills” as quite essential qualities.

The Jobs Index survey is conducted to gauge perceptions of job availability and hiring trends and to provide an understanding of the key skill sets and qualifications required in the MENA region job market. Countries within this region noted various preferences as reasons for hiring during the Jobs Index survey.

Overall, employers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar seemed more likely to hire than others, as 33 percent and 31 percent respectively stated that their organizations will “definitely” be recruiting new staff in the next quarter.

When respondents were asked how many job positions their organizations would fill in the next three months, 45 percent said that less than five jobs would be available, while 23 percent said that between six and 10 jobs would be available in the coming quarter.

“The level of regional hiring activity remains relatively encouraging given the regional economic backdrop. However, it is clear that in some parts of the region companies seem to be favoring a climate of cautious cost-consciousness, specifically in terms of HR growth.

“This continues to favor hiring activity on Bayt.com as evidenced by our latest job counts, as employers across the Middle East are aware that they can use our jobsite’s industry-leading tools to gauge the latest market salary levels and find the region’s top talent for key positions in the fastest, easiest and most cost-efficient manner,” said Amer Zureikat, who works in VP Sales at Bayt.com.

Sundip Chahal, CEO of YouGov, said, “When recruiting, the region’s organizations place much more emphasis on key skills such as fluency in the first language of the region, in addition to teamwork, personality, loyalty and honesty. By looking at the figures, it’s evident that employers will not instantly choose a candidate just based on qualifications alone.”

Furthermore, the Job Index is gauged by asking the respondents what their hiring expectancy is in a year’s time, which develops the Hiring Expectancy Index.

Suggesting widespread optimism for the future, 67 percent of the MENA region’s organizations expect to hire in the long term, while 75 percent stated the same in Lebanon.

Job seekers in Saudi Arabia might be more fortunate at finding work in a year’s time, with 71 percent of the country respondents stating they will “definitely” be hiring in 12 months’ time. Additionally, respondents in Algeria were also highly confident that their organizations will be hiring in the future – 33 percent said they would “certainly” recruit in a year’s time. However, the lowest figures among surveyed countries in terms of propensity to recruit in a year’s time were in Morocco at 22 percent and in Bahrain at 19 percent.

Moreover, when asked how to rate their current country of residence as an attractive job market compared to those across the rest of the region, respondents in the UAE, followed by the Qatar were the most optimistic about their country – 44 percent and 43 percent respectively.

In Saudi Arabia, while 42 percent said their country was much more attractive, 20 percent from Lebanon claimed the same.