UAE ranked most popular country for global workers

Top industries hiring international staff include financial services, IT and management consulting, Deel report finds

France, India, Turkey and the UK were the top locations for UAE recruiters, according to a new report from Deel. Getty Images

The UAE is the world's most popular country for international talent seeking employment visas, a new report by global HR platform Deel has found.

The Emirates is followed by the Netherlands, France, the UK and Singapore, according to Deel’s annual Global Hiring report, which gathered data from 300,000 work contracts across 160 countries.

The top industries hiring international workers to the UAE include financial services, information technology and services, computer software, management consulting, and marketing and advertising, the research found.

France, India, Turkey and the UK were the top locations for UAE recruiters, while the most sought-after roles in the Emirates are for management consultants, content managers, software engineers, influencer marketing managers and strategy directors, the data showed.

“The UAE’s commitment to talent, innovation and a dynamic business environment is clearly resonating with international professionals and solidifying its position as a top hiring destination,” said Tarek Salam, head of expansion at Deel.

“The UAE's diverse and multicultural workforce is its greatest asset. By attracting and retaining international talent, the country is positioning itself for continued economic growth and success in the global marketplace.”

The jobs market in the UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, has recovered from the coronavirus pandemic, driven largely by government fiscal and social measures to attract skilled workers and incentivise companies to set up or expand their operations.

The Emirates is shifting to an employers’ market, with more people moving to the UAE because of the lifestyle and economic problems in other countries, recruitment consultancy Robert Half said in its 2024 Salary Guide report.

However, the influx of talent and greater competition for roles means candidates are willing to accept lower remuneration to gain a foothold in the Middle East, which brings down the overall market rate and restricts salary growth, Robert Half said.

A majority (82 per cent) of professionals in the UAE and Saudi Arabia said they prefer working in the GCC region rather than moving to Europe or the US, according to a survey by professional services network LinkedIn last month.

About 46 per cent of respondents said the region’s standard of living made it a preferred destination, followed by the attractive lifestyle at 35 per cent and opportunities for professional growth on 31 per cent, the survey found.

Talent in the UAE is highly sought-after by companies in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, the Deel report said.

This demand is particularly strong in industries such as computer software, IT and services, financial services, marketing and advertising, and software development, with roles such as software engineer, sales executive, marketing manager, account manager, and full stack developer being particularly favoured, the report said.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific were ranked the fastest-growing hiring regions globally last year, according to Deel.

The company identified the top five cities for global workers to be: London, Toronto, San Francisco, Buenos Aires and Madrid. This was based on the number of international workers hired.

The most popular job roles globally last year were software engineers and developers, sales, content, product and design, the report found.

The jobs with the biggest salary increases worldwide last year were in teaching, sales, software engineering and content management, while the biggest decline in wages were in customer support, recruiting, accountancy and marketing, according to Deel’s findings.

Most sought-after roles in the UAE

• Management consultant
• Content manager
• Software engineer
• Influencer marketing manager
• Strategy director

Source: Deel