What’s the jobs outlook in the UAE in 2023?

How is UAE Job Market in 2023?

You may be looking for better opportunities for your career in the UAE or seeking guidance as to better avenues to try as an immigrant in the UAE. This is where the significance of learning about the expectations experts have from the UAE job market becomes significant and jobs outlook in UAE becomes meaningful.

Are you interested to figure out how the UAE job market is going to fare in 2023? You will have to understand the present job market scenario in the UAE and understand the projections for 2023.

Do you know that over 86 percent of active professionals in various sectors in the UAE are quite positive about career advancement in 2023? These people include those who are planning for a new career in 2023 and those who want to earn a higher salary and gain new skills for the same. These observations were made as the result of a survey conducted recently.

It’s amazing to hear that over 72 percent of respondents in the survey think that they need to work in higher positions. They see the potential in the UAE and are quite spirited about advancement in career and position.

The top three factors that drive the professionals at work in the UAE, a significant portion of which comprises migrants, are the following:

Salary & benefits	69 percent
Career growth	42 percent
Job security	33 percent

Another great news is that currently 7 out of 10 employers in the UAE are planning to hire new employees in 2023! The top jobs include positions in sectors like finance and accounting, sales, and administration services.

So, besides the obvious technical and academic skills, what are the best qualities you will need to get your footing in the UAE for the long term? These include:

• Excellent communication skills
• Leadership skills
• Teamplay

Here are some of the industries that need new talent to join them in the new future:

• Sales & Marketing/Advertising/Public Relations
• Construction/Property Development/Real Estate
• Finance and Banking

As much as the future looks bright, let’s understand the scenario from the present perspective. Here are some crucial figures:

In the Q3 of 2022, over 42,000 new jobs were created in the UAE in the period from July and September 2022. Here are the sectors to which the UAE will hire the most in 2023:

Sector	Hiring percentage
Business management/consultancy	84
Trade/retail	82
Consumer goods	81
Manufacturing	77
Healthcare	72
Engineering	71
Human Resources	69
Sales and Marketing	64
Construction/real estate	63
Education	54
IT/E-commerce	53

The GDP growth in the UAE in 2022 is expected to be at the rate of 5.4 percent. The same is projected to be 4.5 percent in 2023.

By the end of 2022, the unemployment rate in the UAE is expected to touch 3.5 percent. This is expected to be 3 percent in 2023.

In the UAE, the following are the rules regarding the working hours in private and public sector companies:

Private sector

• As per the relevant section of the UAE Labor Law, the normal working hours in a private sector establishment are as follows:
  • 8 hours per day or
  • 48 hours per week.
• There could be variations in the daily working hours for some specific sectors of the economy or some specific categories of workers. Those are decided and implemented by the ‘Executive Regulations of the Labour Law’.
• When it comes to counting the working hours, the time taken by the workers to commute from their residence to their place of work isn’t taken into consideration while calculating their working hours. The only exception is applied in the case of certain worker categories. These will be specified by the ‘Executive Regulations of the Labor Law’.
• In case somebody works for two or more employers, the original employer as well as other employers may have no requirement for the workers to work more than the hours they have agreed upon when the employment contract was drawn; that’s unless the worker consents to do so and give it in writing.
• In case workers request to do their work remotely (from inside the UAE or from abroad), the employer has to stipulate working hours specifically.
• Workers in the UAE have the right to take at least one break, in case they work five hours consecutively. These breaks mustn't be under an hour. Also, breaks taken aren't calculated while counting working hours.

Overtime

• The UAE employer may ask employees to work overtime, only if the number of excess hours worked doesn’t go beyond two hours in a day.
• In case the work’s nature needs the employee to work more than the normal working hours, then such employees will be entitled to receive pay that’s equivalent to the pay for normal working hours with an added 25 percent of that pay. There could be an increase of 50 percent in case overtime work is done from 10 pm to 4 am. However, this rule isn't applicable to employees who work on a shift basis.
• In case the circumstances call for the employee to work on his day off, as mentioned in the work regulations or labor contract, then such an employee will have entitlement to a substitute rest day, or to a payment that’s equivalent to the pay for normal working hours with an addition of 50 percent of such pay.

Jobs outlook in the UAE, 2023

Let’s examine the projection of jobs in the UAE in 2023. Here, we will check the most in-demand jobs in the UAE and how they fare currently.

Job role	Average annual salary
IT & Software and Development
SEO Experts	AED54,000
Content marketing specialists	AED144,000
Digital marketing specialists	AED70,183
Software Engineers	AED200,000
Software Developer	AED94,000
Data Scientist	AED289,996
Engineering
Petroleum Engineer	AED 579,443
Mechanical engineer	AED54,888
Electronics engineer	AED60,000
Chemical engineer	AED96,000
Aerospace engineer	AED180,000
Healthcare
Nurse	AED 63,000
General Practitioners	AED180,000

Apply for a UAE work visa

Here are the steps to be followed to apply for a UAE work permit.

Step 1: Choose your work visa

The following are the types of work visas issued by the UAE. You have to choose which one is suitable for you. The work permit could be:

• one used to recruit a worker from outside the UAE
• a temporary one meant to hire a worker to complete a job within a certain period of time
• a juvenile permit used to recruit a juvenile aged 15 to 18 years
• a Golden Visa holder permit that’s used to employ a worker holding the Golden Residence visa from the UAE
• one to transfer a foreign worker from one establishment to another
• a one-mission permit that’s used for the recruitment for an overseas worker to finish a temporary job, or a particular project for a certain period of time
• a permit for student training and employment to recruit a student aged 15 years who’s already present in the UAE
• a national trainee permit to give training to a national of the UAE
• one for a resident on a family sponsorship
• a part-time work permit that’s used to recruit workers under a part-time contract where their working hours/days are less than their full-time contract
• a UAE/GCC national permit used to employ a national of UAE/GCC
• a freelance permit that’s used to allow self-sponsored foreigners to work in the UAE and perform necessary tasks or provide required services to companies/individuals (without sponsorship from a certain employer in the UAE and with no employment contract drawn).

Step 2: Get your qualifications recognized

You must ensure that you have the qualifications required to apply for a work permit. These are basically tied to those qualifications necessary to work with the UAE employer in the specified employment.

Step 3: Arrange a checklist of requirements

Here’s a checklist of documents you will need to submit while applying for a UAE work permit:

• A valid passport along with a photocopy
• An entry permit issued by the Ministry of Labor in the UAE
• A copy of the company’s commercial license
• Passport photos
• The results of a medical screening
• An Emirates ID card
• A copy of a company card issued by the employer

For a UAE work permit, you will need the aforementioned documents to be submitted along with a fully filled work permit application form completed in Arabic. A job offer or an employment contract from a UAE company is also required.

Step 4: Apply for UAE Work Visa

There are three stages in getting a work visa in the UAE. They are:

• obtaining an employment entry visa
• obtaining an Emirates ID card (Resident Identity Card)
• obtaining a work permit and residence visa

Obtaining an employment entry visa

This is also called a Pink Visa. The UAE employer will lodge an application for the approval of a visa quota on your behalf. The Ministry of Labor would approve this application.

Then the UAE employer submits an employment contract to the Ministry of Labor. You, the prospective employee, are required to sign this contract.

The application for a work permit must be approved by the Ministry of Labor before the Pink Visa is issued. If these two are done, you have to enter the UAE within two months.

After entering the UAE with a Pink Visa, you will have 60 days to obtain a residence visa and a UAE work permit.

Obtaining an Emirates ID card (Resident Identity Card)

To apply for a residence visa in the UAE, you the employee, will need to undergo medical screening. For the screening, you will require an Emirates ID.

So, to apply for an Emirates ID, you must submit the entry visa (Pink Visa) along with a passport in original and a photocopy of it. You must apply for it at the EIDA (Emirates Identity Authority) center. It’s there where you provide your biometrics which includes photographs and fingerprints.

Obtaining a work permit and residence visa

You must apply for a UAE work permit and residence visa by attaching the documents already mentioned above. A residence visa used for contractual work in the UAE has a validity of a period of not more than two years. The residence can be renewed. Your UAE work permit will be listed as part of the residency visa.

After your work permit application gets approved, you can begin working in the UAE legally and officially.

How can Y-Axis assist you?

For trusted and globally reputed multiple services necessary for a potential immigrant wanting to move to the UAE, visit Y-Axis. Professionals like mining engineers wanting to move to the UAE can seek our valuable services namely:

• Expert assistance to apply for UAE immigration.
• Immigration consultancy to show you the right path to immigrate risk-free and hassle-free.
• Expert coaching services for language proficiency tests like IELTS, CELPIP, and PTE when you need it most.
• Career counseling with expert advice.

If you are looking for expert immigration advice and assistance, talk to Y-Axis, the leading immigration and career consultant in the UAE.

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