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10,319 unemployed Emiratis in capital

ABU DHABI — There are 10,319 unemployed Emirati nationals in the capital, mostly males with modest academic qualifications, Ghaith bin Hannil Al Ghaith, member of the Abu Dhabi Emiratisation Council (ADEC) has revealed.

Quoting the Census figures for 2005, Al Ghaith said the unemployed included 7,638 males and 2,681 females.

“Unless job opportunities are found, this figure of unemployed will continue to grow,” he added.

“Males with secondary school qualifications or lower qualifications account for 66.1 per cent of the total unemployed people in Abu Dhabi,” Al Ghaith quoted the Census report as saying.

Of the 2,861 unemployed Emirati women, 56.9 per cent have post-secondary qualifications.

“Yet, while they are in a better position to compete with men for jobs needing higher qualifications, women are not being hired because the market is displaying a clear bias towards men at almost every level,” Al Ghaith further quoted the Census report as saying.

Some of the factors cited by the report for unemployment of nationals, according to Al Ghaith, include lack of enough career development resources in areas other than Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

Besides this, says the report, “substantial number of job-seekers are graduating from schools and universities in Abu Dhabi with qualifications that are not in demand in the local labour market.”

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