UAE is the global leader in attracting migrating professionals, study finds

India, with 28 per cent, was the leading source of professionals, according to the LinkedIn study.

The Dubai International Financial Centre. The UAE topped LinkedIn's study into countries attracting migrating professionals. Jaime Puebla / The National

The UAE is the global leader in attracting migrating professionals, according to a new study.

LinkedIn, the online professional network which has 380 million members including 16 million in the Mena region and 2 million in the UAE, analysed every member position added to member profiles during the course of last year.

The study showed that the UAE gained 1.89 per cent as a percentage of its total workforce, making it the leader for the second year running.

“It is especially interesting that the results of this study show that the UAE’s attractiveness as an employment market is no longer limited to the traditional sources of talent, which for years have been India, Pakistan, and other Arab states,” said Ali Matar, head of Talent Solutions, LinkedIn Mena.

India, with 28 per cent, was the leading source of professionals, according to the study, with the United Kingdom, Pakistan, United States, and Qatar completing the top five.

“The study clearly shows that there is a high international appeal, especially from the UK and the US, establishing the UAE as a globally desirable destination for migration,” Mr Matar said.

The most common UAE occupations found in the study were salespeople, marketing specialists, project managers, corporate finance specialists, accountants, consultants, and mechanical engineers.

Switzerland and Saudi Arabia followed behind the UAE as nations attracting the most talent.

Last month, research by Aetna International, a leading health benefits provider, revealed that Dubai is the most searched for jobs destination for US expats, ahead of second-placed London.

However, the sustained low oil price, which is currently under $50 a barrel, having peaked at $115 in June last year, is starting to have an effect on job growth in the Emirates.

Recruitment firm Morgan McKinley said in a report last week that professional hirings fell by 1 per cent in the second quarter to 8,109 compared with 8,213 in the first three months of the year.

There was also a 6 per cent drop in the number of professional job seekers between the first two quarters, the report found.

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