The UAE saw a 10 per cent increase in job creation in the second quarter of 2022 as compared to the first quarter, according to Cooper Fitch’s latest report.

It also saw the biggest jump in job creation among Gulf countries, followed by Bahrain at nine per cent, Oman at six per cent, Qatar at four per cent and Saudi at three per cent. Kuwait’s job market contracted by two per cent in Q2 this year.

The country's latest initiatives to attract top talent through different reforms such as Golden Visas have been paying off very well, as high net worth individuals and freelance professionals flock to the country for better returns on investments as well as safety against the pandemic.

UAE's economy has been growing at a very strong pace on the back of high oil prices, expanding by an estimated 8.2 per cent in the first quarter. It’s expected that real gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow 5.4 per cent this year and 4.2 per cent, thanks to higher oil production and a government pledge to double the manufacturing sector’s size by 2031.

Additionally, UAE’s monthly Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), a key indicator of the private sector’s performance, has also reflected a positive trend in job creation in the country.

Cooper Fitch data showed most of the new employment is being generated in sales and marketing, cloud, public sector, strategy software development, cybersecurity and finance.

It is estimated that thousands of jobs will come up in new-age sectors including 40,000 in metaverse alone in the country. Aside from that, UAE will also generate opportunities for 100,000 coders.

Cooper Fitch analysts noted that the UAE and other Gulf countries GCC look set for a very positive employment year in 2022 with each country focused on delivering against their medium and long-term strategies around job creation. “We are forecasting mid-high single-digit growth across each of the Gulf countries for the year ahead,” analysts said.

As local banks increasingly shift towards digital banking, the latest UAE Central Bank report revealed that the number of bank employees increased by a massive 845 in the first quarter of this year to 33,882 as compared to Q1 last year while the number of branches shrank by 22 to 585. This reflects that lenders are increasingly hiring IT and sales and marketing professionals to propel their growth.

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