Doha 2nd lowest risk city for employers in MENA

Doha is the second lowest people risk city in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA), according to the findings from the 2012 People Risk Index, released on Sunday. Aon Hewitt, the global human resources business of Aon plc, created the index.

The Aon Hewitt 2012 People Risk Index measures the risks that organisations face with recruitment, employment and relocation in 131 cities worldwide by analysing 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five areas including, demographics, education, government support, talent development and employment practices.

According to the findings, Doha ranks 42nd among the 131 cities covered in the Index and is the second-highest ranked city in the Middle East. It has a risk similar to Paris, Vienna, Auckland and Berlin. Doha also finished higher on the People Risk Index than European capitals such as Madrid, Lisbon, Rome, Istanbul and Moscow and leading Asian business hubs such as Shanghai, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Colombo, Bangkok and Mumbai.

Advertisement

When it came to Middle Eastern cities, Doha was preceded by Dubai and followed by Muscat, Manama and Riyadh on the list, while Sana’a and Damascus were ranked the lowest of all cities involved in the survey, the report said. Based on Aon Hewitt analysis, MENA cities can be divided into two groups. The first group consists of cities with relatively low-risk ratings and includes the GCC cities (Dubai, Doha, Muscat, Manama, and Riyadh).

The second group of cities, with relatively high risk ratings includes Tunis, Cairo, Amman, Tehran, Algiers, Rabat Tripoli, Baghdad, Sana’a and Damascus. Some additional key findings of the people risk factors are highlighted below.

The key risk factors that differentiate the low risk MENA cities from the high risk group include the higher workforce productivity due to a more stable economic environment, future availability of workforce due to younger population composure and population inflow. This thus increases the workforce pool that companies can access. In contrast, there is a higher rate of emigration in the high risk group reducing the pool of available workforce in those cities.

The key risk factors that differentiate the high risk MENA cities from the low risk group are primarily attributed to higher terrorism and political risk and violence and crime. In the recent Arab Spring, the high risk cities were more affected with higher political and economic instability as the cities experienced significant parliamentary and policy reforms, the report said.

source: Qatar Tribune