Hiring slows down dramatically in most Gulf countries

The GCC region registered a record low growth rate of negative 21% in job opportunities in June, 2016, as compared to the same period last year, Qatar Tribune reported.

"The results of Monster Employment Index (MEI) mirror the adverse impact of rising economic uncertainty in the region," said Sanjay Modi, managing director APAC and Middle East, Monster.com.

"Clearly, employers are adopting a much more cautious and risk-averse approach to hiring, with e-recruitment in the region registering a negative 21% annual growth in June, 2016, the lowest this year."

Job opportunities in Egypt, Qatar, KSA and Kuwait were down by a negative 30%, 25%, 18% and 9%, respectively. However, job opportunities listed in the UAE, Bahrain and Oman show a positive growth trend in June, 2016, and are up by 10%, 23% and 3% respectively, as compared to the same period last year.

"We expect this positive trend to continue, especially in the UAE which is seen by economists as the most promising economy in MENA. UAE's GDP is forecast to grow by 3% this year, 1% higher than the World Bank's original forecast. This is significant when viewed against a backdrop of a projected global growth rate of 2.6% in 2016," continued Modi.

In the UAE, healthcare continues to be the industry where job demand is soaring, with listed job opportunities up by 46% in June, 2016, as compared to the same period last year.

Similarly, there is a significant increase in demand for healthcare professionals, with job listings up by 31% in June, 2016. With the mandatory health insurance scheme in place, the country's multi-billion-dollar healthcare industry could continue growing double digits in 2016, as all sponsors are now required to enrol their employees for a mandatory medical coverage plan.

The second best performing UAE industry is Retail/Trade and Logistics, with 32% growth in online job posts.

This group is followed by Consumer Goods/FMCG, Food & Packaged Food, Home Appliance, Garments/Textiles/Leather, Gems & Jewellery, with a growth of 29% in job opportunities posted online year on year to June 2016.

The Monster Employment Index is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity in Middle-East based on a real-time review of tens of thousands of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career websites and online job listings.

The Index does not reflect the trend of any one advertiser or source, but is an aggregate measure of the change in job listings across the industry.

Courtesy: Qatar-tribune.com