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Employment

Employment news from the Middle East and beyond. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

CEOs in the UAE have the lowest average current age, but women still only account for 5% of hires

Alstom breaks mould as Gulf lags on hiring women as CEOs

Dalya Al Muthanna is a member of an exclusive club. In January she became Gulf CEO for the transport giant Alstom, the company behind tram systems in Dubai and Qatar.  She was previously a senior executive at GE in the UAE, bucking the trend of men dominating senior C-suite jobs in the Gulf. Just 5 […]

Public sector jobs have traditionally been preferred by Emiratis, but the Nafis programme seeks to change those perceptions

UAE to invest $1.7bn to place more Emiratis in private sector jobs

The UAE is aiming to add 36,000 Emiratis to the private sector workforce this year and has approved a $1.7 billion budget to support Emiratisation. The number of UAE nationals working in the private sector was about 92,000 by the end of 2023, according to the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council. Nearly 42,000 joined private businesses […]

A Starbucks cafe in Beirut, Lebanon. Jobs are being cut due to 'continually challenging trading conditions' in the Mena region

Kuwait’s Alshaya lays off Mena Starbucks staff

Kuwait’s Alshaya Group, one of the Gulf’s largest franchise owners, is cutting jobs at its Starbucks outlets.   The coffee brand has suffered from calls for a boycott since the start of the Gaza conflict. “As a result of the continually challenging trading conditions over the last six months, we have taken the sad and very […]

Workers in Bangladesh wait to travel to Saudi Arabia. Migrant workers have been sending remittances in smaller amounts.

Saudi remittances fall as expats invest domestically

Expatriate remittances from Saudi Arabia have fallen over the past two years, despite a rise in the number of overseas workers needed to develop the kingdom’s slate of huge giga-projects. Some experts have predicted the slump in funds sent back home could be as a result of improved investment opportunities inside the kingdom.  Yearly remittances […]

Unemployment increased from 15.8 percent to 16.8 percent in urban areas of Morocco marketplace Marrakesh Marrakech

Morocco job market hit by rise in rural unemployment

Morocco’s unemployment rate increased by 13 percent to nearly 1.6 million last year as the country’s rural areas haemorrhaged jobs. Between 2022 and 2023, the national economy lost 157,000 jobs, according to the latest figures from the Higher Commission of Planning. Although urban areas recorded an increase of 41,000 jobs, employment in rural parts of […]

These workers at a factory in Manama, Bahrain, could soon be enjoying a three-day weekend if the government goes ahead with proposed changes

Kuwait and Bahrain propose changes to working week

Lawmakers in Kuwait and Bahrain are pushing for major amendments to the working week, aiming to improve workers’ rights and boost the work-life balance in the two Gulf states. In Bahrain, the focus is on extending the weekend to three days: Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  “There is an urgent need to keep pace with global […]

Emirates NBD will finance eligible SMEs at competitive rates, charging the Eibor with no additional margin

Dubai’s $136m boost to drive global growth of SMEs

Dubai has allocated AED500 million ($136.13 million) to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with ambitions to scale up globally. The initiative was launched in partnership with Emirates NBD, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. The Dubai international growth initiative will support the global expansion of SMEs founded in the emirate, Dubai Crown Prince […]

Retired people in the UAE will be encouraged to use the skills developed across their careers to develop small businesses in Dubai

Dubai launches small business plan to support Emirati retirees 

Retired emiratis are being incentivised to run their own companies after the launch of the Dubai Retiree Projects Support programme this week. The scheme is part of the Dubai Social Agenda 33, which aims to create a more proactive social system. Benefits include priority for government contracts, financing of future projects, exemption from service fees […]

Under the UAE's demographic diversity rule, companies must diversify the range of nationalities in their workforce

UAE reverses stance on diversity rule for visas

The UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has reversed its stance on a demographic diversity rule, previously cited by companies as the cause for multiple work visa rejections based on nationality. The policy is still expected to be implemented at a later date. AGBI recently reported that businesses in the UAE were encountering difficulties […]

Wego co-founder and WegoPro CEO Prashant Kirtane and Wego co-founder and CEO Ross Veitch

Saudi will top Gulf business travel chart, says Wego boss

Business travel to and from Saudi Arabia is expected to surpass neighbouring UAE, according to the CEO and co-founder of online travel marketplace Wego. As of the start of this month, foreign companies hoping to gain access to billions of dollars worth of government contracts must have their regional headquarters in Riyadh. The regional HQ […]

Workers on a wheat farm in Sharjah. The UAE is enforcing a ruling that limits applications for a nationality that already represents 20% of a company’s workforce Video length: 06:59

UAE diversity law causing visa issues for businesses

UAE businesses are encountering difficulties getting work visas for new employees of South Asian nationalities following the enforcement of a government directive to boost diversity in the workforce. Abeer Al Husseini, a Dubai-based partner at immigration law practice Fragomen, told AGBI that the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has “reinstated” its demographic diversification regulation.  […]

Saudi Arabia's new long-term residency visa programme follows its HQ Programme for international companies

New Saudi visas aim to lure ‘high-wealth investors’

Saudi Arabia’s new long-term residency visas is at attracting “high-wealth investors” to the kingdom, though it may hinder the nurturing of local talent, some analysts have warned. The updated “premium residency” options are designed to lure top global talent to Saudi Arabia as it continues its billion-dollar transformation from a hydrocarbon-based economy. The visas cover […]

Office workers in a meeting. 'Many advisers are still developing the experience and expertise' at the same time as ESG guidelines are introduced, says one expert

Gulf’s ESG uptake hindered by lack of expertise

The Gulf has seen a rise in green bonds and funds, but awareness of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) reporting and the infrastructure to carry it out is lagging the rest of the world, a leading industry expert says. A survey from the consultancy PwC Middle East revealed that 64 percent of respondents in […]

Employment growth in Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector eased further after hitting a nine-year record in October

Demand fuels price rises in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil sector

A surge in demand towards the end of the year saw non-oil companies in Saudi Arabia increase prices for the second month in a row in December. Manufacturing was the standout industry. “A number of firms signalled that increased demand momentum gave them greater confidence to pass on higher input costs to customers,” according to […]

A Saudi woman leaves her office. Foreign companies are setting up HQs in the kingdom to gain access to government contracts

‘No loopholes for companies’ to be found in Saudi HQ rules

Multinational companies looking for loopholes in Saudi Arabia’s regional headquarters rules will not find them, although the exceptions set out in the small print could affect negotiations, business relocation experts have told AGBI. As of Monday, foreign companies looking to gain access to billions of dollars worth of government contracts must have their regional headquarters […]

Employment growth in Saudi Arabia's non-oil private sector eased further after hitting a nine-year record in October

Unemployment rate among Saudis climbs to 8.6%

The unemployment rate among Saudi citizens rose marginally to 8.6 percent in the third quarter of 2023 from 8.3 percent in the previous quarter, according to data from the General Authority for Statistics. The rate was down from 9.9 percent in the third quarter of 2022. The overall unemployment rate, including Saudis and non-Saudis, reached […]

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - DECEMBER 02: Greg Silverman, Charlene Deleon-Jones and Jessika Borsiczky pose in the portrait studio during the Red Sea International Film Festival 2023 on December 02, 2023 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)

Coming to a movie theatre near you … AlUla

It would make the perfect setting for Star Wars or Indiana Jones, but AlUla is developing production facilities that will expand its reach beyond sci-fi and desert adventure movies, making it one of the region’s prime locations for international shoots.  The tourist location in northwest Saudi Arabia is fast developing into a mini-city with an […]