The firms will conduct quarterly studies to identify job trends and quiz companies in the region about their hiring intentions.

For the first wave 5,084 executive managers and HR managers from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Pakistan took part in online interviews.

The results suggested that the region is starting to recover from the effects of the economic downturn, with 52% of respondents planning to take on new staff over the next few months.

Bayt’s director of marketing Lama Ataya said: “By launching the Jobs Index and conducting it quarterly to gauge how the region’s employers feel they are poised – or conversely – poorly-placed to hire in the coming months which can then be compared over time, we will be eliciting a clear overview of the way that the job market is moving, allowing us to chart its improvements, stability or indeed decline.”