Studies show increase in average Qatar salaries

The 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 the following monthly average wages:

• QR 32,622 - legislators, senior officials and managers;
• QR 22,386 - professionals;
• QR 19,607 - technicians and associate professionals;
• QR 16,468 - clerks;
• QR 9,055 - service workers and shop and market sales workers;
• QR 4,774 - skilled agricultural and fishery workers;
• QR 4,511 - craft and related trade workers;
• QR 3,285 - plant and machine operators; and
• QR 3,666 - elementary occupation workers.

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.

For more on this story visit bq magazine’s website