UAE: Number of Emiratis working in private sector rises by 11% in first three months of 2023 – News

The “significant” growth was welcomed by the MoHRE, who predicted the trend is expected to continue for the rest of the year

Emiratisation has continued to deliver remarkable results in the first three months of 2023, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE). The number of Emiratis employed in the private sector increased by 11% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to 2022 figures.

“Over 10,500 Emiratis have joined the private sector since the start of 2023, bringing the total number of Emirati employees in the private sector to more than 66,000,” MoHRE said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement also noted that the number of private businesses employing Emirati increased by 13 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. In addition, the total number of companies employing UAE nationals exceeds 16,000, including more than 2,000 companies employing Emiratis since the beginning of 2023.

According to MoHRE, this trend is expected to continue. “We expect a stronger cadence of Emirati hiring over the next two months, as the deadline for private sector companies with 50 or more employees to meet the semi-annual Emiratisation target of 1% is June 30, 2023,” it said. explain.

From the beginning of this year, companies with 50 or more employees must increase their emirates rate by 2%. It covers all sectors and areas of the private sector. Those who do not comply must pay Dh6,000 per month for each Emiratis without a job.

The ministry’s results show that the five industries that employ the most Emiratis in the first quarter of 2023 compared to 2022 are business services. The industry grew by 10%. This was followed by business and maintenance services, up 13 percent; construction, up 14 percent; financial brokerage, up 4 percent; and manufacturing, up 10 percent.

Over 5,000 Emiratis benefited from career counseling services in the first three months of 2023.

“The UAE is committed to economic development through public-private partnerships and is keen to implement targeted measures to strengthen the UAE’s role in the job market, especially in the private sector,” MoHRE added.

This year, MoHRE and the UAE Competitiveness Council (Nafis) started imposing strict fines and penalties on companies that falsify Emiratisation data. Under the rules, businesses caught carrying out fake Emiratiization to obtain Nafis benefits could face fines ranging from Dh20,000 to Dh100,000 per fake Emirati employee.

It announced on Wednesday that more than 380 cases of “false Emiratisation” had been uncovered so far. In January 2023, the MoHRE will prosecute 20 companies for violating the Emiratisation policy last year. The public prosecution also ordered the imprisonment of the owner and manager of a private company for defrauding 296 Emiratis.