On a job hunt? Consumer goods industry is your best bet in UAE

dubai - Overall, there has been a 14 per cent decline in online recruitments

The UAE's consumer goods industry has seen an increase in online hiring activity, aided partly by a steady, ongoing increase in consumer spending.
According to the Monster Employment Index (MEI), the sector continues to record the highest growth in online hiring, with an increase of nine per cent from Q1 2017 and 26 per cent from Q2 2016.

"The consumer goods industry has been increasing online hiring across the UAE since the beginning of the year. This may be due to the typically high turnover rate seen in this industry. However, it demonstrates that the industry is continuing to strengthen in the UAE as demand for employees is strong despite an overall slowdown across other sectors," said Sanjay Modi, managing director of Monster.com, Apac and Middle East.

The hiring growth in consumer goods, including FMCG, food and packaged food, home appliances, garments, textiles, leather, gems and jewellery, came amid a continuing sluggish trend in online hiring across the nation with a 14 per cent decline in activity from the first quarter of 2017.

Among the occupations evaluated by the MEI, software/hardware/telecom was the best performing with no change since Q1 2017, while purchase/logistics/supply chain registered the least decline since Q2 2016 at a six per cent reduction in online recruitment.

Recent data by Euromonitor International showed that consumer spending in the UAE, which amounted to nearly $183 billion in 2016, is forecast to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5 per cent over the next five years to exceed $261 billion in 2021. Consumer expenditure per household during 2016 was highest in the UAE when compared to other GCC countries, amounting to around $103,000.

Other industries to show growth in online recruitment from Q1 2017 include chemicals/plastic/rubber/paint/fertilizer/pesticides, and healthcare with nine per cent and seven per cent growth respectively while marketing - including advertising, market research, public relations, media and entertainment - remains unchanged.

"It is also very encouraging to see growth in online hiring in the healthcare industry complemented by a slight stabilisation in occupations in the industry as the UAE continues its efforts in advancing the healthcare offerings on a global level," added Modi.

Occupations that appear to be stabilising from the first quarter of 2017 include those in software/hardware/telecom with no change, hospitality and travel with only one per cent decline, and healthcare and marketing and communications each recording a two per cent decline. The IT/telecom/ISP industry recorded the highest decline in online hiring from the first quarter of 2017 at nine per cent while occupations in HR/administration registered the steepest decline at 23 per cent.

- rohma@khaleejtimes.com