Companies recruiting new employees now are offering a 15 to 20 per cent lower salary package than what they offered during the pre-Covid-19 period.

Consultants also maintain that temporary pay cuts and a 4-day work week are the new norm for some firms as they eye a tighter control on their costs.

They said the market dynamics is being dictated by the fact that expatriate jobseekers would want to settle down quickly in the UAE even with a lower salary to avoid moving back to home country. At this stage, it’s an employer’s market with job losses in key sectors in the UAE.