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The UAE led the GCC in terms of growth of new jobs in 3Q 2024, with an 8% q-o-q increase in vacancies, followed by Saudi Arabia with 7% and Qatar with 3%, according to Cooper Fitch’s Q3 Gulf Employment Index (pdf). Overall, the GCC area experienced a 6.5% q-o-q growth in new jobs in 3Q 2024, with this rising momentum expected to last until early 2025.
GCC hiring patterns are driven by sizable investments in technology, media, telecommunications, and space commercialization, attracting swathes of international talent, especially in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Cooper Fitch CEO Trefor Murphy told Dubai One (watch, runtime: 7:27). Several sovereign funds in the region are also heavily investing in fintech, hospitality, and real estate, creating a mass of jobs in these sectors.
The biggest sectors: The real estate sector saw jobs increase 9% q-o-q during the quarter, while consulting saw jobs increase 14% q-o-q in the region. Other flourishing sectors include legal roles, which increased by 9% across the GCC in 3Q 2024, and banking jobs rose by 13% compared to the previous quarter.
Final quarter expectations range between 2% to 3% growth in GCC jobs, with indicators signaling that UAE-based job creation will reach an all-time high, and Saudi Arabia will experience a decline in new jobs provided, Murphy said.
