Hiring market continues upward trend
The number of vacancies in the UAE market rose to 6,458 in Q3, which not only represents a 2% increase from Q2 but more significantly a very positive 15% increase in opportunities since this time last year. This is largely due to the growth in the Middle Eastern economy thanks to significant international investment from the UK, Russia, India and East Asia. This positivity has encouraged banks to foster a more competitive lending environment and organisations across the region are taking advantage of this renewed confidence.
Economy outgrowing expectations
This encouraging employment picture is mirrored by the positive news around the UAE economy with the most recent forecasts predicting growth. This can be attributed to higher than predicted oil output and increased government spending during the first three quarters of the year. It also reported that the real estate market has recovered significantly, which seems to be encouraging companies to be positive when it comes to hiring talent.
Construction market continues to grow
As we highlighted in the previous report, the construction industry has continued to grow, with significant building projects due to begin in the coming months. The strong recovery of Dubai’s real estate sector was particularly evident at the recent Cityscape Global conference, where investors scrambled to snap up units as new development plans were showcased.
High demand for business specialists
As businesses look to capitalise on the improving economy, there is a huge demand for business analysts and M&A specialists across every area of business. Employees with experience in established markets such as London, New York and Hong Kong are in particularly high demand. As we move into 2014 and beyond, we expect to see this activity continue as companies persist in seeking out the most profitable avenues for growth.
In the same vein, we have also noted an increase in demand for procurement specialists with strong international backgrounds who are able to implement sophisticated systems and processes to provide greater value for money. As a result, more employers than ever before are looking at investing in driving profit through procurement.