Professionals working in the Gulf have been hit hard by the downturn, with almost two-thirds not receiving any pay hike and one in ten losing job this year, says a survey by online recruitment firm GulfTalent.Com.

In its fifth annual survey of labour market trends in the region, the survey says that average salary increases across the six Gulf countries over the 12-month period to August 2009 fell sharply to 6.2 per cent compared with 11.4 per cent over the same period last year.

The drop was most severe in the UAE, which fell from 13.6 per cent to just 5.5 per cent this year, largely due to its heavy exposure to the real estate sector.

Kuwait also saw a significant drop in pay rises from 10.1 to 4.8 per cent, after the value of its financial investments collapsed.

Sixty per cent of professionals surveyed did not receive any pay increase this year at all, compared with only 33 percent last year.

On job losses across the Gulf, the report said 10 per cent or one in ten professionals was made redundant. This was highest in the UAE at 16 per cent and lowest in Oman at 6 per cent.

On a sector basis, real estate had the most drastic cuts, with 15 per cent losing their jobs.