Almost half of the UAE's employers are likely to hire in the next three months and the UAE is perceived as the best country to live and work in, says a study.

According to the new Jobs Index study conducted by Bayt.com, in conjunction with YouGov Siraj, more than half of the region's employers, 52 per cent, are planning to recruit over the next few months. While 26 per cent of the employers in the region are definitely hiring and 26 per cent probably hiring.

In the UAE, a quarter of the respondents said their organisations would definitely be hiring in the next three months, and another 23 per cent said they would probably be hiring. Just under a fifth, 19 per cent, said they probably or definitely would not hire in the next quarter.

Bharti Jatti, General Manager, Careertunity, told Emirates Business: "Definitely the job market in the UAE is opening up now as our recruitment team is busy meeting the requirements of clients, unlike earlier when recruitment was put on hold. We have also got new clients coming to us now."

On how they rate their country of residence as a job market compared to those around the rest of the region, respondents in the UAE were the most positive about their country: 49 per cent said it was much more attractive than other countries.

Balakumar, Director, Dulsco HR Solutions, said: "The UAE continues to hold its own where attracting professionals is concerned due to the fact that salary levels here are comparable to that of the West, the excellent tax environment attracts professionals from across the world and also increases the potential of people working here to save. Also, it is a safe country to live and work in and provides good living conditions."

Positivity about current country of residence was also felt in Saudi Arabia (44 per cent) and Qatar (38 per cent). Banking and finance (32 per cent) or telecommunications (31 per cent) are attracting or retaining top talent.

Around the Middle East and North Africa, countries reported varying propensity to hire. More than a third of respondents in Oman, 34 per cent, said they would definitely hire in the next three months. This was closely followed by Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, where 31 and 30 per cent respectively said their organisations will definitely recruit.

Around the Gulf, the countries largely varied in terms of their intentions to hire. In Qatar, 55 per cent said they would definitely or probably hire in the coming three months, compared to 53 per cent in Kuwait and just 47 per cent in Bahrain. The figures suggest that organisations in Saudi Arabia are currently faring the best during this current economic cycle.

On how many jobs would be available in the next three months, 42 per cent of respondents said there would be less than five jobs 'on offer' for job seekers in their organisations. Another 24 per cent said their organisations would be offering six to 10 jobs, while at the other end of the spectrum, just three per cent of the respondents said more than 100 jobs would be available.

According to the study, organisations around the Middle East favour employing staff who are graduates in the fields of engineering or business management: 21 per cent of organisations agreed that these two were the most important disciplines.

Lama Ataya, Head of Marketing, Bayt.com said: "This data with regard to preferred qualifications is interesting, but it is perhaps more indicative of the dominant industries in the region, rather than the fact that some types of qualifications are seen as worth less than others."