Pay has been frozen for two thirds of workers, while one in 10 have lost their jobs in the Gulf region, according to new data from online recruitment firm GulfTalent.com.

Average salary increases across the six Gulf countries over the year to August 2009 fell to 6.2% compared with 11.4% over the same period in 2008.

Job shedding was at its highest in the UAE at 16% and lowest in Oman at 6%, while real estate saw the most drastic cuts, with 15% losing their jobs.

Redundancies were at their highest among senior executives at 13% and Western expatriates also at 13%, while Gulf nationals recorded below-average redundancies at 9%.

For 2010, 15% plan further job cuts, but 51% anticipate increasing headcount, while the study forecasts average pay increases for 2010 of 6.3%.

Craig Marcham, managing consultant for international and emerging markets at Hudson, told Recruiter: “US and European facilities management and IT firms are still going into Qatar and Saudi Arabia and starting up as domestic markets remain tough.

“Money is still being pumped into higher education and the oil & gas sector is still hiring.”