Arab Spring shines light on employment challenge and reform inertia

While business confidence continues to improve across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, pressures outside the region are having an increasing effect on the c-suite’s view of business reform priorities according to the 5^th Oliver Wyman / Zogby Research Services survey of 160 top managers. 

The GCC C-Suite sees the Arab Spring as increasing both the importance of addressing issues like youth employment and labor reform and the rate at which these reforms should take place. When asked what posed the greatest hurdle to undertaking reform, senior managers pointed to “vested interests” and “lack of urgency.”

Other findings include:

• When asked “which is the greater challenge?”, twice as many executives said creating jobs for young nationals than said fostering greater political participation.
• “Outside macro-economic shocks” are seen as the greatest threats to business conditions in the UAE
• Senior managers in Qatar see “Regional military conflict” as the second greatest threat after outside macroeconomic shocks (having grown from 8% of responses to 39% since last May)
•  More than half all respondents report that the Eurozone crisis has had an impact on their business.

With respect to the general optimism, Turner notes “It is remarkable that as the rest of the world is shaking from the European crisis and the slow recovery, Gulf business leaders remain confident.” The results of the bi-annual survey were unveiled at the annual Oliver Wyman / Financial Times C-suite conference in Dubai on January 19th.

For more information about this and previous C-suite surveys go to: http://www.oliverwyman.com/gcc_survey_5.htm