Jobs in the UAE that are paying up to Dh10,000 a month have seen the biggest fall in hiring during April and May 2026, according to a new Naukrigulf Hiring Index released on Monday.
The report said that hiring for these jobs dropped by 26 per cent compared with the same period last year. According to it, the slowdown is linked to the regional military conflict.
Higher paying jobs saw a smaller decline. Jobs offering Dh11,000 to Dh20,000 a month fell by 22 per cent. Jobs paying Dh21,000 to Dh40,000 dropped by 19 per cent. Positions that were offering Dh41,000 to Dh80,000 declined by 11 per cent.
The highest paying jobs between Dh80,000 and Dh150,000 a month recorded the smallest drop of 5 per cent. Jobs paying more than Dh150,000 fell by 23 per cent.
However, the report said there are only a small number of these jobs, And employers are still looking for people to fill them.
It said that the regional conflict that began in late February affected travel, trade, tourism and other major sectors.
Technology jobs continued to perform better than most other sectors. IT and digital jobs fell by only 6 per cent while technology roles dropped by just 3 per cent.
Demand for jobs in artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity and data increased by about 20 per cent. Engineering jobs also performed better than many other fields, with a 16 per cent decline.
Some sectors saw much larger drops. Sales and marketing jobs fell by 42 per cent. Human resources and finance jobs both declined by 34 per cent.
Industries like oil, gas and energy recorded the biggest fall at 30 per cent. Healthcare and pharmaceutical jobs dropped by 24 per cent while real estate and construction declined by 20 per cent.
The report also said that most employers in the UAE do not ask for a specific nationality when hiring. Around 68 per cent of job advertisements were open to all nationalities.
