The Arabian Gulf model of oil-powered investment and expatriate workers has been good for labour markets, experts said. But the employment landscape is darkening across the rest of the Middle East.
The UAE and Qatar are ranked within the top 30 countries globally – placing them next to France and Japan – in Insead’s Global Talent Competitiveness Index, which aims to evaluate human resources policy and practices internationally.
The UAE was ranked 22nd and Qatar 25th. Saudi Arabia came 32nd.
“Qatar and the UAE stand out … by virtue of their idiosyncratic talent policies,” the report said, referring to the import of large numbers of expats and name-brand universities.
Georgetown University and University College London have both opened branches in Doha, while New York University and a host of business schools, including Insead and the London Business School, have made a home in the Emirates.
“In recent years, there has been a clear push towards the ‘knowledge economy’, which Qatari and Emirati governments have pursued by formulating policies to attract foreign talent and expertise.”
The UAE was highlighted for the ease with which companies can hire and fire employees, the number of students who enter the country and for high levels of labour productivity.
It scored poorly on innovation, vocational training, academic output and for the sophistication of its export industries.
But the wider Middle East is struggling with the weight of high unemployment and poor global growth prospects are likely to make this burden even heavier, the International Labour Organization said yesterday.
The IMF reduced its growth forecasts for the Middle East and North Africa yesterday, citing low oil prices and increased political instability. Projected growth for this year is 3.3 per cent – 0.6 lower than the fund’s October estimate.
Unemployment in the wider Middle East, already at 11.5 per cent, will be the highest in the world over the next five years, the ILO said. Youth unemployment will hover at about 40 per cent over the same period.
This poses both political and economic problems, with many experts identifying high youth unemployment as a key factor behind the Arab Spring.
Female workforce participation remains low across the region. Last year almost three times more men than women were in work. Female unemployment was 21 per cent, compared with 6 per cent globally.
Low rates of female unemployment mean that a large, well-educated segment of the workforce remains unused, the ILO said.
Informal work – black-market, untaxed jobs in which employees lack legal protection – is especially high among the young. The ILO found that more than 90 per cent of young people in Egypt with jobs work informally.
Skills shortages are reported across the Middle East – and that includes the UAE and Qatar. While the Gulf states have had better luck attracting skilled employees for technical roles than oil-importing nations, shortages in key sectors, including hospitality, energy and health care, remain.
Most critically, with more than 3 million refugees leaving Syria for Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, the pressure on labour markets has been significant. Most Syrian refugees in Lebanon work for about 60 per cent of the minimum wage, while almost all are employed informally, the ILO said.
abouyamourn@thenational.ae
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