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Nationals' share in labour market up by 2 per cent

"The number of nationals enrolled in the local labour market has registered an increase of two per cent between 1995 and 2004," the report said, pointing out that this was due to the emergence of the younger generation, who constitute over 45 per cent of the total national population.

"This indicates that the government should intensify efforts to provide this category with suitable job opportunities in accordance with their qualifications and the demands of the labour market," the report said.

The flip side of the survey is that national males had a stronger grip on the market compared to women, who account for less than 27 per cent of the national job market, said the report.

"The unemployment rate among national females was 19.7 per cent against 8.2 per cent for national males. This figure does not reflect the fact that thousands of female graduates from higher educational institutions pass out every year, outnumbering males," it said.

However, national female businesswomen achieved significant economic growth which exceeded 16 per cent between 1995 and 2004, prompting the need to tailor job opportunities in the market for women. "Most of the job-seekers in the country registered with Tanmia are females, accounting for more than two-third of the candidates in 2004," the report said, adding that of the registered female candidates, 86 per cent were academically qualified with around 79 per cent obtaining certificates higher than secondary school.

The report said candidates who had specialised in business administration and computer science accounted for 58.1 per cent of the total job-seekers while applicants who had specialised in human and behavioural science made up for only 27.1 per cent.

Shedding light on the emiratisation drive in the banking sector, the report mentioned that nationals in this sector increased by 282 per cent, accounting for about 26.4 per cent of the total labour force in the banking sector.

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