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28 March 2024

UAE on hiring spree in 2013: Here’s a list of hot sectors for job opportunities

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By Shuchita Kapur

The UAE job market is expected to follow an upward trajectory this year after a steady 2012.

An increasing number of large-scale projects are being announced by the UAE government as well as the private sector. While that led a number of businesses to increase hiring (albeit cautiously) last year, recruitment experts in the country believe that quite a few industry segments and sectors will increase their headcount in the months to come.

This, obviously, augurs well for the market in the long-term, leading to salary hikes and job growth for individuals.

Sectors that are expected to generate jobs include both the traditional pillars of the economy – oil, gas and petrochemicals – as well as the previously battered ones, such as banking, construction and real estate, with the latter having a spill-over effect on industries like logistics.

As confidence returns to the market and the economy improves, we are also witnessing growth in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and retail sectors, say jobs specialists.

“More construction throughout the region has prompted additional recruitment in this area as well as in property and real estate. This has had the knock-on effect of impacting other related industries such as utilities and logistics,” Gareth El Mettouri, Associate Director at recruitment specialists Robert Half International, told 'Emirates24|7'.

“The FMCG and healthcare/pharmaceuticals industries are also seeing additional demand and job creation,” he added.

Hasnain Qazi, Middle East Business Manager at hiring advisors Huxley Associates, lists his hot sectors for jobs in 2013. “Banking, oil & gas, construction/ Infrastructure projects, retail, leisure and tourism and FMCG,” are the sectors that will see strong hiring this year, he told this website.

Suhail Masri, VP Sales at Bayt.com also has similar picks. “In the UAE sectors [that are expected to hire the most are] banking/finance (34 per cent), oil, gas and petrochemicals (32 per cent), and telecommunications (27 per cent).” These findings are based on a survey conducted by the jobs site.

Retail, trade and logistics are strong areas for job opportunities this year on the back of a good 2012. According to a recent Monster Employment Index, these sectors in the country recorded a huge spike in online job opportunities, surging by 45 per cent year-on-year. The findings were released last month.

Analysts have predicted that more employers in the country are expected to hire this year.

Jennifer Campori, Managing Director, Middle East and Europe, Charterhouse Partnership, sees a strong year ahead as more projects have been announced with the second quarter of the year to set the stage for growth this year. [Read UAE jobs forecast 2013: More hiring than firing]

Employees in the country and the region at large are positive about the opportunities that 2013 will offer. As per a recent poll conducted by Bayt.com, 75.3 per cent of Mena professionals are feeling positive about ushering in 2013 and 65.3 per cent of the respondents (Mena based) expect a new job this year.

The jobs site’s last quarterly consumer confidence survey (November 2012) shows that prospects for the UAE are highly positive for the year 2013 as 49 per cent believe that their personal financial situation will improve, 47 per cent have similar positive hopes for the UAE’s economy, and 52 per cent also believe that business conditions will follow suit, while 37 per cent are optimistic about the availability of jobs.