UAE – Mubasher: The UAE witnessed a 42% year-on-year hike in online recruitment in the first quarter of 2019, leading regional growth, according to the latest Monster Employment Index (MEI).

The increase in online job postings across the GCC nation can be attributed to the significant growth in Emiratisation in both the public and private sector, according to a statement.

Over the course of 2018, the UAE's Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation created 20,225 jobs for UAE nationals, compared to 6,862 in the prior year.

The education industry registered the highest growth with 21% year-on-year increase in online recruitment in Q1-19, followed by the production industry which recorded a 15% increase.

The most in-demand jobs in the online space in the UAE were those in human resources (HR) and administration at 38% growth, followed by finance and accounting at 36%.

The UAE topped regional growth according to the MEI, followed by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain with 17% and 12%, respectively.

 Oman was the only country that witnessed slight retreat in online recruitment, registering a 3% year-on-year drop from in Q1-19.

“The government has put in place plans to make the private sector more appealing for national talent, including the consolidation of public sector and private sector holidays, and with recently announced plans to create 30,000 more jobs for Emiratis in the private sector this year, the recruitment market will be further stimulated,” CEO of Monster.com for Asia Pacific (APAC) and Middle East, Abhijeet Mukherjee, said.

Additionally, the development of new cities and industrial units has largely contributed to creating new jobs.

In Egypt, future industrial units are expected to create nearly 200,000 job opportunities in the short- and medium- term, director of healthcare, education and PPP at Colliers International MENA, Mansoor Ahmed, told Mubasher.