UAE jobs down 10% in 6 months: Monster Index

Recruitment levels in the Middle East improved moderately in the six months to April 2011, according to Monster Employment Index Middle East, indicating a consistent improvement in the job market in the region. 

On country specific growth, Saudi Arabia (up 10 per cent) was the strongest among the GCC countries in six-month growth. However, the study shows that available online opportunities in the UAE in the month of April slid 10 per cent below the November level. Jobs in hospitality rebounded but it was production/manufacturing, automotive and ancillary that led all sectors in six-month growth. Demand for marketing and communications/arts/creative professionals recorded strongest six-month growth despite steep monthly decline.

 Egypt (down -25 per cent) saw online hiring recede further. The six-month view shows the country’s online jobs space dip by 25 per cent between November and April; the steepest six-month decline among all countries, according to the Index.

“Middle East employers eased up on recruitment activity in April, following particularly heated hiring sessions in the preceding months. It is unclear how large a role seasonal recruitment cycles play into the latest patterns seen but it is clear that the job market has remained relatively strong over Q1 and continues to remain heated for key sectors such as IT, healthcare, production and engineering”, said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director (India/Middle East/South East Asia), Monster.com.

According to six-month industry trends, online opportunities in April exceeded the November level in six of the 12 industries monitored by the Index. Production/manufacturing, automotive and ancillary (up 12 per cent) was among the leading sectors in the Index in terms of six-month growth rate in April. On the other hand, retail/trade and logistics (down 31 per cent) charted the most dramatic downswing in recruitment activity between November and April among all sectors. 

The six-month occupation trend shows that online demand for workers exceeded the November level in five of the 11 occupational categories monitored by the Index. Marketing and communications/arts/creative (up 36 per cent) recorded the sturdiest six-month growth among  ccupation groups. Software, hardware, telecom (up one per cent) registered positive growth in April marking the most dramatic improvement in trend among groups (up from -15 per cent in March to one per cent in April). Engineering and production (down five per cent) reached the lowest in the series since October 2010.  

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