The Monster Employment Index, a monthly gauge of online job demand in the Middle East, registered negative jobs growth in the region in the past seven months, with the index dipping 10 per cent to 89 in May 2011, from a high of 99 in November 2010.

“The summer months typically see reduced recruitment activity around the globe which could have possibly contributed to the recent decline in the Gulf Index,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director (India/Middle East/South East Asia), Monster.com.

“That said, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait have demonstrated positive growth indicating an improved jobs market in these large economies of the Middle East,” he added.

The UAE’s online jobs market has witnessed a 6 per cent growth in the past six months, according to the Monster Index, which is the second best growth in the region, behind Saudi Arabia’s 13 per cent growth in the period.

“We saw sectors like engineering; IT and healthcare expand notably in the first quarter. Growth has now shifted to banking and finance as well as the more creative, advertising and marketing sectors,” said Modi.

In fact, Kuwait with a 3 per cent growth in jobs in the past six months is the only other regional country to witness positive movement, with the other four regional countries that the Index tracks registering negative trends.

Jobs in Egypt declined the most, dropping 19 per cent in six months, followed by Oman (-18 per cent), Qatar (-7 per cent) and Bahrain (-2 per cent).

According to latest postings on job portal Bayt.com, UAE leads the pack on online vacancies posted with 4873 jobs. Saudi with 2621 and Qatar with 1953 postings are the second strong growing job markets. This is followed by Kuwait (624 registered vacancies), Bahrain at 135 and Oman with Oman 101 online postings on the site.

Konstantina Sakellariou, Partner, Marketing & Operations Director at Stanton Chase believes that hiring in the UAE is not just limited to some specific sectors but is more company oriented.

“I think the market starts to stabilize and by now most sectors have proceeded in clearings. Thus, job cuts will be most probably connected with companies and not with sectors. Hiring will be stronger in specialized positions in the industrial sector, in the financial sector and in technology,” she recently told this website.