What jobs? Are UAE employers pulling back?

Just as news about increased job openings and various career fairs in the country, offering opportunities to candidates, gathered pace, the April 2013 Index released by online portal Monster.com for the Middle East reveals that the region at large has registered a 26 per cent year-on-year drop in online job activity.

According to the latest iteration of the Monster Employment Index, this double-digit drop for the month of April 2013, compared with the same month last year, comes on the back of a weak global economic situation.

“The double-digit drop in the Monster Employment index is reflective of the cautious approach adopted by Middle East employers owing to the business scenario globally. All major industry sectors across Middle East have shown a decline in hiring activity,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com (India/ Middle- East/ South East Asia).

Online opportunities in the region exceeded April 2012 levels in two of the 12 industry sectors monitored by the index. Education (up 12 per cent) led all sectors followed by Hospitality (up 4 per cent). Chemicals/ Plastic/ Rubber, Paints, Fertilizer/ Pesticides (down 32 per cent) registered the steepest annual decline.

As far as occupation year-over-year trends are concerned, the Monster Index highlights that one of 11 occupation groups registered improved online demand over the year. Hospitality and Travel (up 10 per cent) led all occupational groups in year-over-year growth whereas customer service (down 38 per cent) professionals registered the weakest long-term trend.

In the UAE, the Index recorded an annual 23 per cent annual decline. Engineering, Construction and Real Estate (up 0 per cent) is the only sector to have recorded non negative growth. Hospitality and Travel and Health Care (up 1 percent each) lead in annual growth amongst the occupation groups.  

The Monster Employment Index is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity in Middle-East based on a real-time review of tens of thousands of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career websites and online job listings.

The Index shows that, even as the region suffered from a 26 per cent decline in online job opportunties on an annual basis (largely due to a 23 per cent decline in online job opportunities in the UAE and Kuwait),  Egypt (6 per cent), Bahrain (5 per cent), and Qatar and Oman at 4 per cent growth fared better. 
 

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