UAE Salary Guide 2025: A Snapshot of Trends and Insights

The UAE jobs market faces its biggest shake-up in years, as companies freeze salaries, cut long-time expat managers and look for AI-savvy recruits from an ever-growing pool of jobseekers. Salaries for professionals in the UAE will see either zero or low-single-digit growth in 2025 due to a surge in population and the influx of job seekers, according to recruitment consultants. There are more candidates available in the market than jobs, leading to people accepting lower wages in specific roles, they say.

Economic Outlook and Salary Projections

Despite some stagnation, consulting firm Mercer anticipates a 4 per cent increase in UAE salaries for 2025, based on a survey of over 700 companies. Similarly, a Hays survey indicates that 75 per cent of employers expect to raise salaries this year, with employees commonly receiving increments between 2.5 per cent and 5 per cent in 2024. Employees in the UAE have been accustomed to receiving salary increases and living a tax-free lifestyle, but this “gravy train” can't last forever, according to Trefor Murphy, founder and chief executive of recruitment firm Cooper Fitch.

Key Industry Statistics and Ranges

Average salaries and ranges are based on professional industry roles, excluding blue-collar and service roles. Data from the Michael Page 2025 Salary Guide report provides the following insights:

• Highest average salary sector: Banking & Financial Services (61 reported job titles).
• Lowest average salary sector: Secretarial & Office Support.
• In-demand roles: Managing Director (Banking & Financial Services) and a CEO (Sales & Marketing) are among the few with starting salaries over Dh100,000.
• Market Distribution: Nearly 70 per cent of recorded jobs have a minimum monthly wage between Dh10,000-Dh40,000.

Expected Salary Ranges (ESR) by Sector

The ESR represents the difference between a given job's maximum and minimum monthly salary. The industries where workers have a wider salary range are:

• Consultancy, Strategy & Change: Dh30,000 - Dh60,000
• Healthcare & Life Sciences: Dh30,000 - Dh55,000
• Property, Construction & Real Estate: Dh45,000 - Dh70,000

Focus on the Oil and Gas Industry

Oil and gas companies are facing a skills shortage that requires immediate action. Field workers, technology experts, energy engineers, and strategic HR leaders are in high demand. With the global industry requiring more than $600 billion of investment annually until 2030, this will create demand for more jobs. Currently, the most in-demand roles in the UAE’s oil and gas industry are field jobs such as those of engineer, supervisor and operator.

Salary Data for Oil and Gas Roles

Specific monthly salaries for field-based roles are as follows:

• Field Operator (2-5 years experience): Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
• Field Engineer (2-5 years experience): Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
• Field Supervisor (6-12 years experience): Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
• Senior Drilling Engineer (10 years experience + Bachelor's degree): Dh38,000 to Dh46,000

The industry has made technological advancements but efforts to upskill the ageing field workforce have lagged behind. Field engineers are required to have experience in specific service lines, tools and systems, as well as good client management skills and health, safety and environment (HSE) knowledge.