| Kippreport.com

A long break or breaking away?

April 28, 2009 11:32 by Aarti Nagraj

The UAE’s Minister of Labor Saqr Gobash has denied reports that the country is witnessing a mass exodus of expatriates, and that the population is falling due to the financial crisis, reports Gulf News.

Workers are merely being sent home for holidays, Gobash said.

In late March, investment bank EFG-Hermes said in a report that Dubai’s population would decline by 17 percent in 2009, to reach 1.49 million from 1.79 million in 2008.”The report attributes the fall to a 30 percent drop in the number of construction workers and all real estate related and financial services sectors,” said the report.

Kipp has noticed that more taxis are available, the roads are sometimes less jammed, and the number of “for sale because we are leaving” listings on community website Dubizzle are on the rise.

What do you think? Are people actually relocating to their home countries, or just going on holiday?

Tags: Dubai, expatriates, labor ministry, not decreasing, population, relocating, vacation