According to the QSA Labour Force Survey for the third quarter of 2014, average monthly wage in Qatar was QR 10,761, up 10 percent from 2013.

Monthly average salary in Qatar has gone up some 10 percent compared to the previous year (QR 9,667 in 2013), more than keeping pace with the inflation. The latest average salary break-up by occupation available (2013), shows that legislators, senior officials and managers were paid a monthly average wage of QR 32,622; professionals QR 22,386; technicians and associate professionals QR 19,607; clerks QR 16,468; service workers and shop and market sales workers QR 9,055; skilled agricultural and fishery workers QR 4,774; craft and related trade workers QR 4,511; plant and machine operators QR 3,285; and elementary occupation workers QR 3,666.

The average monthly salary in the private sector was QR 6,883 – over three times less than the QR 22,781 average in the government sector, while in semi-government one could expect a pay of around QR 18,700; and a meagre QR 2,548 for being a domestic employee, the findings revealed.

According to QSA, average salary by economic activity (2013) shows the most profitable jobs were in public administration and defence (QR 24,258); followed by extraterritorial organizations (QR 22,889); mining and quarrying (QR 21,965); finance and insurance (QR 20,957); electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply (QR 20,231) and information and communication sector (QR 20,062).

Only a tenth of that and even less got paid to workers employed by households (QR 2,548), while workers in construction received an average salary of QR 4,811; and agriculture, forestry and fishing workers QR 5020.

Gender gap remains

The gender gap remains and women were on average paid 15 percent less than men. While women got QR8,510 a month on average, men were paid QR10,075. The biggest differences in pay were recorded in the following categories: elementary occupations (47 percent less), service workers and shop and market sales workers (41 percent less), legislators, craft and related trade workers (38 percent less) and senior officials and managers (23 percent less).

Statistical data shows the smallest differences in pay can be found among technicians and associate professionals, and plant and machine operators and assemblers. Still, women get paid less than men in these fields as well. Compared to the 2010 QSA findings, there has been some improvement in the ‘equal pay for equal work’ department, as the income of males was on average 28.9 percent higher than women’s pay packages back then.

Women continue to be the minority in the workforce, accounting for only 14 percent of the working population in Qatar. Although there has been a noticeable improvement from the previous year (8.6 percent women in employment), only 192,311 women are employed, compared to 1,344,297 male employees. Qataris of both genders constitute 5.8 percent of the workforce in the country.

Education pays off

QSA data shows that investing in higher education pays off later. And while there is not much difference in average salaries of an illiterate person (QR 3,750) and one that has finished primary school (QR 3,909), the number jumps to QR 12,113 on average for finished secondary school and to QR 22,852 for finished university and above.

According to PayScale Inc., a company that has used crowdsourcing and big data technologies to compile the world’s largest database of 40 million individual salary profiles, annual salary ranges for popular degrees are:
Associate Degree – QR 30,000 – QR 294,791
Bachelor of Engineering, Civil Engineering: QR 60,790 – QR 487,377
Bachelor of Engineering, Electrical Engineering: QR 47,513 – QR 385,878
Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering: QR 49,914 – QR 427,964
Bachelor’s Degree: QR 49,120 – QR 430,249
Bachelor’s Degree, Civil Engineering: QR 95,356 – QR 483,219
Master of Business Administration: QR 51,521 – QR 606,923

Salary increase of 5.2 percent

Gulf Business Salary Survey found Qatar to be the second best paying nation in the GCC, following Saudi Arabia, and the latest figures from Aon Hewitt’s Global Salary Increase Survey indicate a strong and growing economy.

The global talent, retirement and health solutions business said companies across Qatar are predicting an average salary increase of 5.2 percent in 2015. The figure is slightly down from forecasts made in 2014 and 2013 which stood at 5.6 percent for both years, however, employees in the country were given an average salary increase of 5.1 percent in 2014, only slightly below the original projection.