Where have all the jobs gone?

Where have all the jobs gone?

Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, that's where. Job vacancies in Dubai have fallen 13 percent since 2008. The UAE labor minister predicted this would happen.

July 13, 2009 1:29 by Dana El Baltaji

The number of job vacancies in Dubai has fallen considerably in 2009 due to the financial crisis, GulfTalent.com announced on Sunday.

The online recruitment agency noted that out of all the jobs advertised in the GCC, only 30 percent were Dubai-based, compared with 43 percent in 2008.

“The economic downturn has slowed recruitment activity in the GCC region significantly, with Dubai in particular seeing a fall in the number of vacancies advertised, though still retaining a sizeable share,” GulfTalent.com said in a statement.

Meanwhile, job vacancies in Abu Dhabi rose from 14 percent to 23 percent in 2009; in Qatar they increased from 9 percent to 13 percent; and in Saudi Arabia they rose from 15 percent to 20 percent.

The report also said that the number of UAE residents seeking jobs elsewhere in the GCC rose from 16 percent in 2008 to 26 percent in 2009, indicating that more foreign workers are keen to leave the UAE. Indeed, in a report published earlier this year, Egypt-based EFG-Hermes said that Dubai’s population is likely to decline by as much as 17 percent, from 1.79 million in 2008 to 1.49 million in 2009.

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Tags: down, Dubai, GulfTalent.com, job vacancies, Labor, UAE