GCC Job Market Review June 2016

June 2016 Index Highlights

• Monster Employment Index registers the third consecutive year-on-year decline in GCC e-recruitment since April 2016; down by 21 percent in June 2016.
• Between March and June 2016, the Middle East Index witnessed an 18 percent decline in online hiring activity.
• Among the countries monitored by the Index, only Bahrain, UAE and Oman register positive year-on-year growth.

UAE, Bahrain and Oman are the only GCC countries to register a positive annual growth rate in job opportunities, while the region as a whole registers a record low growth rate of negative 21 percent in June 2016, as compared to the same period last year.

“The results of Monster Employment Index (MEI) mirror the adverse impact of rising economic uncertainty in the region,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director – APAC and Middle East, Monster.com. “Clearly, employers are adopting a much more cautious and risk-averse approach to hiring, with e-recruitment in the region registering a negative 21 percent annual growth in June 2016 – the lowest this year.” Job opportunities in Egypt, Qatar, KSA and Kuwait were down by a negative 30%, 25%, 18% and 9%, respectively.

Job opportunities listed in the UAE, Bahrain and Oman show a positive growth trend in June 2016 and are up by 10%, 23% and 3% respectively, as compared to the same period last year.
“We expect this positive trend to continue, especially in the UAE which is seen by economists as the most promising economy in MENA. UAE’s GDP is forecast to grow by three per cent this year – one per cent higher than the World Bank’s original forecast of two per cent. This is significant when viewed against a backdrop of a projected global growth rate of 2.6 per cent in 2016,” continued Modi.

In the UAE, healthcare continues to be the industry where job demand is soaring, with listed job opportunities up by 46 percent in June 2016 as compared to the same period last year. Similarly, we see a significant increase in demand for healthcare professionals, with job listings up by 31 percent in June 2016 year to date. With the mandatory health insurance scheme in place, the country’s multi-billion-dollar healthcare industry could continue growing double digits in 2016, as all sponsors are now required to enrol their employees for a mandatory medical coverage plan.

The second best performing UAE industry is Retail/Trade and Logistics, with 32 percent growth in online job posts. This group is followed by Consumer Goods/FMCG, Food & Packaged Food, Home Appliance, Garments/Textiles/Leather, Gems & Jewellery, with a growth of 29 percent in job opportunities posted online year on year to June 2016.