UAE employment surpasses pre-pandemic levels
UAE stands out among EMEA and Latin American markets as employment stays higher than 2019 levels, while remote hiring records the fastest growth.
The UAE labour market has maintained employment levels above those recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic, making it the only market among those in EMEA and Latin America where employment remains higher than pre-pandemic levels.
A LinkedIn report for August 2026, which tracks July data and was obtained by Al Bayan, showed that employment in the UAE remained 5% higher than its July 2019 level. This comes at a time when the average decline in employment across the EMEA and Latin American markets covered by the report stood at 20.2%.
The UAE's performance stands out compared with other markets. Average employment across the region remains 29.7% below July 2019 levels, while the UAE has managed to remain above pre-pandemic levels, according to LinkedIn data.
The UAE labour market also recorded a notable shift towards flexible work, with remote job postings rising 44.3% year on year in July, the fastest growth rate among all markets included in the report. The UAE outpaced the Netherlands, which recorded growth of 33.9%, followed by Italy at 16.9% and the UK at 14%.
Remote positions accounted for 5.9% of total paid job postings in the UAE in July, although their share declined by 3.7% compared with the previous month.
Hybrid roles accounted for 6.5% of total job postings in the UAE during July.