Jobs in UAE: Private sector hiring grows for 14th consecutive month

The UAE’s job market continues to expand and create more opportunities for jobseekers, growing for the 14th consecutive month in June as non-oil sectors' growth accelerated last month, according to S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a survey designed to give an overview of the private sector.

The demand for new staff in the country was driven by the new orders which hit a four-year high in June.

"The extent of the inflows in new work was such that backlogs of work continued to rise in June despite a ramping up of activity, further job creation and an expansion of purchasing activity. This should therefore support further increases in staffing levels in the months to come as firms try to keep on top of workloads,” said Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The UAE’s population has increased in the last couple of years, driven by increased employment opportunities in the recovery phase of the economy after the pandemic.

In 2022-23 alone, Emirates Group added more than 85,200 employees. On Tuesday, it announced another major recruitment drive as it expands its route network and receives new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus. Similarly, flydubai is experiencing a hiring spree in 2023, adding over 1,100 employees this year. Similarly, other non-oil sectors such as travel and tourism and real estate have also witnessed exponential recovery in the past two years, creating new jobs.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UAE PMI rose to 56.9 in June, up from 55.5 in May, signalling a substantial strengthening of business conditions and one that was the most pronounced since June 2019. The health of the non-oil private sector has now improved in each of the past 31 months.

The monthly survey said rising new orders and work on existing projects meant that business activity increased again at the end of the second quarter. Importantly, the rate of growth was substantial and quickened to the fastest since August last year.

"The ability of firms to secure increasing volumes of new business continued unabated in June, with the growth of new work actually accelerating to a four-year high. Some of this growth was predicated on the offer of discounts to customers, however, which may not be sustainable in the long-term given that input costs are rising,” said Harker.

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