Middle East bucks global hiring slowdown as new jobs surge

Banking and financial services, technology and human resources record most vacancies, says Robert Walters report

The UAE jobs market has made a strong recovery from the coronavirus-induced slowdown. Getty Images

The Middle East recorded an 18 per cent annual increase in jobs across professional services in the first quarter of 2023, as the region bucked the global slowdown in recruitment, a report has found.

The banking and financial services industry registered the highest growth, with a 54 per cent increase in vacancies compared with the same period in 2022, according to the report by recruitment company Robert Walters.

This was followed by the technology and human resources sectors, which recorded a 20 per cent and 10 per cent increase in vacancies, respectively.

“The economic stability and strength of the Middle East has meant that investment into the region continued unabated. Dubai in particular has continued to surge economically,” Jason Grundy, managing director of Robert Walters Middle East & Africa, said.

“All these positive market factors are having an equally positive impact on professionals — with an increase in relaxing laws and visa requirements, as well as attractive compensation packages all acting as positive drivers to expat talent.”

The UAE jobs market has made a strong recovery from the coronavirus-induced slowdown, boosted by the government’s fiscal and monetary measures.

The Arab world’s second-largest economy has introduced economic, legal and social reforms to strengthen its business environment, increase foreign direct investment, attract skilled workers with new visas and provide incentives to companies to set up or expand their operations.

It has also introduced an unemployment insurance programme, which came into effect on January 1.

The jobs market in the UAE is expected to continue to strengthen in 2023, driven by strong market confidence and foreign direct investment as companies expand their international presence in the Emirates, recruitment specialist Michael Page said in a report in November.

In October, a study by Bayt.com and YouGov found that 86 per cent of working professionals in the UAE had a positive career outlook for 2023.

Job vacancies in banking and financial services across the Middle East continued to increase in volume this year, with vacancies up 20 per cent on the 2022 monthly average, according to Robert Walters.

Risk and compliance is the leading area being recruited for, with vacancies up 27.6 per cent up on the 2022 average. However, the largest increase has been for investment management roles, with vacancies up 30 per cent, the report said.

“What is interesting to see is that banking operations has only seen an increase of 3 per cent, with the increasing role of technology in banks clearly having some influence here,” Mr Grundy said.

Within banks, technology now accounts for about a third of all new jobs created, with development, IT management and IT analyst roles increasing in demand, according to Robert Walters.

While hiring in the technology sector was muted in the first quarter, it is bouncing back, with vacancies increasing by 12 per cent, mainly due to activity in Saudi Arabia, the recruitment consultancy said.

Demand for IT project management professionals has increased by 60 per cent, while the next highest role in demand is software development, which accounts for 9 per cent of all tech vacancies.

Vacancies for HR professionals in the Middle East also increased in the first quarter, with volumes up 38.7 per cent on the monthly average from last year, the report said.

“Central to the growth of the Middle East is the talent — and HR has become a core function of any company that is looking to attract and retain talent through the development of a positive, progressive and inclusive workplace environment,” Mr Grundy said.

Internal recruitment is the single largest HR function, with vacancies up 25 per cent on the 2022 monthly average, according to Robert Walters.

General HR is the second-largest area, where between the two they make up nearly half of all HR vacancies.