Monster Employment Index reveals online hiring slow in the UAE, but 2017 outlook remains positive

Dubai, 02 January 2017 – While the latest Monster Employment Index (MEI) registers a 35 percent decrease in November’s online job opportunities in the UAE compared to the same period in 2015, evidence suggests that 2017 will be a better year for job seekers.

According to research recently conducted by Hays, more than half of GCC workers surveyed are considering leaving their current employer in 2017 while 14 percent of UAE employers claim they do not have the talent needed to achieve next year’s objectives. This is further emphasised in separate study by Manpower Group which shows that over two thirds of surveyed employers are looking to expand workforce in the coming 12 months. With employees leaving and employers in need of relevant talent, job opportunities are likely to rise in 2017.

“With the uncertainty surrounding the new oil production cuts by OPEC and the strengthened US dollar, it appears that UAE businesses are taking a cautious approach to growing their workforce, however this is likely to change in 2017 as confidence is restored with more stable market conditions. While online hiring activity in the UAE currently remains very low, the movement of employees and employee talent gaps will create more opportunities but higher competition for job seekers, making it important for job seekers to find ways to stand out,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com, APAC & Middle East.

The latest MEI, based on a real-time review of job opportunities from a large representative selection of career web sites and online job listings, reveals that Purchase/ Logistics/ Supply Chain occupations were the only segment to register growth at 19 percent, while the Education industry registered the least decline in online hiring at -1 percent.

Finance and Accounting occupations demonstrated the steepest decline among industries surveyed with a -49 percent fall from the same period last year while Banking, Financial services and the Insurance industry showed the lowest year-on-year growth in online recruitment at -39 percent.

In the wider Middle East region, online recruitment is down by 44 percent with the Hospitality sector demonstrating the largest decline at -66 percent, while IT and Telecom is among the only sectors to register growth at 5 percent from November 2015.