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29 March 2024

Dubai Expo win impact: Jobs boom to have major ripple effect on UAE

Published
By Shuchita Kapur

The countdown has begun and everybody is keeping their fingers crossed for a big win for Dubai.

The various benefits of the Expo 2020 win have been listed in the past months – for example, the positive impact on the economy, the huge number of business and leisure tourists expected to visit the emirate, the more than 275,000 jobs that will be created and, of course, the potential appreciation in real estate assets.

A number of recruitment experts believe that, on the personal front too, residents of Dubai and the entire UAE are likely to get a similar shot in their salary package – something that can mark 2014 as a good year. However, most analysts are measured in the response, maintaining that while a win will definitely mean more job opportunities, the short-impact may not be very obvious.

“I believe winning Expo 2020 will bring significant changes in the market. With increased demand, it is highly possible that salaries will also be affected upwards,” Konstantina Sakellariou, Partner, Marketing & Operations Director at international recruitment firm Stanton Chase, told Emirates 24|7.

Agrees Hasnain Qazi, Middle East Business Manager at Huxley Associates: “This could be a probable side effect of the Expo 2020, should Dubai win. It will lead to a number of projects kicking off locally across sectors. This will drive the demand for professionals and it may take time for supply to catch up. In such a scenario, salaries can expect to rise in certain sectors,” he elaborated.

It will all be a ripple effect, say headhunters. The Expo 2020 will lead to new job openings, which will result in an increase in demand for professionals and ultimately lead to pay hikes. Moreover, as the property prices and rentals go up, companies will be under pressure to revise pay scales to match the spike in an individual’s monthly outgo.

“I believe salary levels are good at the moment in Dubai, however, if the housing prices in Dubai continue to rise, this may have to change. The most important aspect of the Expo 2020 will be an increase in the number of jobs in the region. Some of these roles will require specific skill sets and if demand outweighs supply in the specified areas, then in order to attract the right talent, a decent salary package will need to be offered whether the candidate is being sourced from within or outside the UAE,” says Caroline Gentles, a recruitment expert in the country.

But, it will be a wait-and-watch situation for many companies and immediate revision in salaries is not expected.
“We really need to wait and see. The impact might not be immediate, or it might be better monitored (compared to the previous growth cycles in Dubai). Besides, there is high supply of people as well, so competition is quite strong and the companies might still be able to negotiate on the level of the salaries but, overall, changes are expected,” sums up Sakellariou of Stanton Chase.