UAE private sector added 40,000 new jobs in Q2

up to 40,000 new jobs were created in the UAE’s private sector during the second quarter of 2019, excluding jobs in freezones, according to the UAE Central Bank.

The total number of private sector workers in the country grew to 5.1 million in the second quarter of 2019, compared to 5.06 million workers in the first quarter, the report said.

The figures come as the UAE national economy posted a year-on-year growth of 2.2 per cent at fixed prices in the second quarter of this year, the bank said.

Based on the data, economic activity since the start of the year contributed to a 1 per cent increase in private sector employment in the second quarter of 2019, compared to a 0.1 per cent rise in the previous quarter.

“The rise in employment during the second quarter of this year is the outcome of an upsurge in real estate and other sectors, which include agriculture, mining, hotels, restaurants, brokerage, education and health,” the report said.

The value of the real estate sector rose by around 5 per cent in Q2 compared to 4.4 per cent in Q1. Meanwhile the value of the other sectors increased by 8.2 per cent – up from 4.9 per cent in Q1.

The construction and real estate sectors employ 45.7 per cent of the UAE’s workforce.

Meanwhile the number of new jobs added to the UAE’s labour market in 2018 reached 137,000, according to statistics from the ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.