Today's Edition
JESSI AMASON (ABU DHABI)
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) on Tuesday officially launched the “UAE Labour Market Observatory”, an online platform designed to provide data on various labour market indicators.
Housed on the MoHRE’s official website, the platform offers updated information on various labour market indicators, regulatory policy outputs, programmes, and initiatives in both Arabic and English.
The platform is distinguished by its easy-to-navigate format, where users are directed to information categorised by the UAE’s labour market priorities, such as social protection and wellbeing, labour market solutions, and streamlined channels of communication between the workforce and the ministry.
Users can also see the UAE’s global ranking in various labour-related categories, along with a holistic view of the current state of the labour market.
On the launch of the platform, Shayma Al Awadhi, MoHRE’s Assistant Undersecretary for Communication and International Relations, said: “The UAE Labour Market Observatory was launched in line with the Ministry’s commitment to transparency with customers; it allows for easy access to data and information about the realities of the UAE labour market and is continuously updated to support research, enable benchmarking and comparison, and track the growth achieved in various sectors and fields.”
Al Awadhi added that the Observatory supports the Ministry’s strategic direction to strengthen electronic and digital services, promote the sharing of statistical data, and offer a reliable source of labour market data and information to media outlets, international organisations, and other stakeholders with a vested interest in labour markets, which can be referred to and consulted in decision-making. It serves as a compass allowing all entities, investors, employers, and any interested party to understand the realities of the UAE labour market and the developments that are shaping it, she said.
Ayyoub Al Marzouqi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Policy and Strategic Affairs at MoHRE, commented that the website was designed with a modern, clear, and attractive interface to facilitate navigation and browsing, offering quick and direct access to regularly updated information and data to serve as a key reference to the outcomes of all MoHRE research projects and studies.
“This is the first edition of the Labour Market Observatory, and it will be continuously updated with additional and detailed data in the future, according to stakeholders’ needs, and in line with the UAE’s data sharing policies,” Al Marzouqi noted.
Key Data Points
According to the Observatory, the UAE’s labour market is ranked first in the world in several global competitiveness indices, covering the Talent Attractiveness Index in the Global Prosperity Index 2023; the Lack of Labour Disputes and the Working Hours categories in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2022; and the Tolerance of Immigrants category in the INSEAD Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2023.
The platform also detailed the labour market’s 10.35% workforce growth in 2023 compared with the previous year, as well as a 9.14% growth in companies.
Also highlighted was a 7.86% year-on-year growth in skilled workers in 2023, concentrated in the information and communications sector, which saw a growth in skilled labour of 77.28%.
Workers in professional, technical, and scientific activities came in second with a 30.85% growth, followed by administrative and support services at 30.57%, real estate at 26.19%, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing at 19%.
Estimated green jobs also saw an impressive 11.69% growth between 2022 and 2023, particularly in key industries such as the manufacturing sector, which saw a 36.06% concentration of green jobs. The construction sector witnessed a 23.86% concentration, followed by the professional, scientific, and technical activities category at 17.13%, the information and communications sector at 12.33%, and the sewage, waste management, and remediation activities category at 10.62%.
Another statistical highlight among the platform’s data comes in the form of a 50.52% proportion of youth workers aged 18 to 35, relative to the total workforce in 2023.
Most notably among the platforms data points, however, is a 23.1% growth in female representation in the private sector between 2022 and 2023, which the Observatory attributed to the UAE’s strong workplace gender equality laws that have paved the way for more female workers to participate in the workforce.
Labour Market Observatory Workshop
This week, the MoHRE will organise a workshop introducing the Labour Market Observatory to its various partners and media representatives in attendance. During the workshop, attendees will have the opportunity to share their observations, make proposals for the Observatory’s development, and share their needs in terms of statistics to maximise the platform’s benefit and potential.
