UAE jobs up 8%; jobseekers by 16%

The professional jobs market continues to show a positive momentum in the United Arab Emirates, according to a new survey released.

Global professional services recruiter Morgan McKinley’s latest UAE Employment Monitor shows professional job vacancies in the UAE rose by 8 per cent between February 2014 and March 2014.

However, if we compare the figures between March 2013 and March 2014, it just shows a 2 per cent increase in roles but the number of professional jobseekers increased 16 per cent from February 2014 to March 2014.

Following a buoyant February, when the professional jobs market ramped up again after the New Year break, March’s UAE Employment Monitor recorded an 8 per cent month-on-month rise in available positions across the region – from 2,238 to 2,417 professional roles. 

Compared to the same period last year, vacancies are also up, from 2,280 recorded in March 2013, the report elaborates.

Keeping in line with the increased number of jobs available in the market, candidates actively seeking professional opportunities too went up. Those seeking employment in March 2014 was 13,152, up from 11,366 in February 2014 – a 16 per cent increase month-on-month. 

Year-on-year data also shows a jump from March 2013, when 12,268 professionals were active in the jobs market.

“The UAE’s economy continues on an upward trajectory.  This is in keeping with the latest purchasing managers' index from HSBC and Markit which reveals that the UAE’s non-oil private sector expanded rapidly in March as new orders rose and companies increased hiring.

This, in turn, has had a knock on effect on the professional employment market, as reflected in our healthy figures this month,” said Trefor Murphy, Managing Director, Morgan McKinley UAE.

“The rise in professional opportunities has been driven by a number of key sectors.  The construction market has expanded once again as projects that were stalled in the first two months of the year kicked off. Consequently, architects, project managers, and quantity surveyors have been in strong demand. As previously highlighted this is due to a renewed focus on projects as Dubai prepares for the Expo 2020. As a result we expect demand in this area to continue for the foreseeable future,” he said.

A previous survey by Naukrigulf.com also shows that job seekers are expected to reap the benefits of a growing job market in the UAE and this will be primarily on the back of new jobs being created in the market, as reported by this website.
 
The survey stated that more than half the recruiters (those who participated in the poll) expect fresh jobs to be on the horizon. This number was similar to the previous survey done in July 2013 which indicated 64 per cent of recruiters anticipating the creation of new jobs. 

Even though the numbers of job seekers increase in the market, employers still complain about finding the right skill set.

The Morgan McKinley findings reveal that employers are still struggling to find candidates with the requisite skills and experience in some key areas. This can be attributed to impressive growth in neighbouring countries – Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman, for example – which is enticing jobseekers from Dubai, the recruiter believes. A growing level of confidence is also seeing many candidates seek new positions to further their career prospects, leading to employers scrambling for talent.

The survey by Naukrigulf.com, too, deduced that the employers in the UAE and the region are faced with a talent crunch and the situation has remained unchanged in the Gulf area with 56 per cent of recruiters claiming they are faced with talent shortage as compared to 58 per cent in July-13 survey.

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