Gulf job market pulse
How many jobs are open right now, how many new ones appeared, and which fields and employers are hiring. Counted daily from employer career pages and job boards.
Jobs open now
28,921
UAE 12,186, Saudi Arabia 12,005, Qatar 1,962
New jobs, last 30 days
36,343
Hiring trend vs the previous 30 days: +14%
Jobs closed, last 30 days
34,798
Filled, expired or taken down by the employer
Typical time a job stays open
26 days
Median, from posting to closing, 14,781 closed jobs
JobXDubai Hiring Index
New job postings each week from a fixed group of employers, against the four weeks from 3 August 2026 (= 100). The group never changes, so the index only moves when those employers hire more or less, never because we add a source.
Latest complete week
119
+20 points on four weeks before
| Field | Index | On four weeks before |
|---|---|---|
| Construction & Engineering | 238 | +143 |
| Operations & Logistics | 188 | +47 |
| Administrative | 144 | +40 |
| Education & Training | 139 | -117 |
| Legal & Compliance | 139 | -3 |
| Human Resources | 133 | +23 |
| Hospitality & Tourism | 132 | +30 |
| Marketing & Communications | 128 | +29 |
| Sales & Business Development | 115 | +18 |
| Healthcare & Medical | 102 | +5 |
| Finance & Accounting | 98 | +2 |
| Executive & Management | 91 | -21 |
| Engineering & Technology | 66 | -2 |
| Data & Analytics | 62 | +11 |
New and closed jobs, week by week
Complete weeks only, for employers we were already tracking at the start, so a new source never looks like a hiring spike.
Which fields are hiring
New jobs in the last 30 days, and the like-for-like change against the 30 days before.
| Field | Share | New jobs | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction & Engineering | 1,556 | +138% | |
| Hospitality & Tourism | 998 | +3% | |
| Sales & Business Development | 903 | -9% | |
| Engineering & Technology | 880 | -30% | |
| Operations & Logistics | 737 | +32% | |
| Finance & Accounting | 515 | -8% | |
| Education & Training | 430 | -13% | |
| Healthcare & Medical | 399 | +45% | |
| Administrative | 329 | +47% | |
| Executive & Management | 291 | +4% | |
| Marketing & Communications | 288 | +9% | |
| Legal & Compliance | 241 | +58% | |
| Human Resources | 240 | +9% | |
| Real Estate & Property | 232 | +307% | |
| Product Management | 152 | +35% | |
| Energy & Sustainability | 135 | +335% | |
| Customer Support | 132 | +1% | |
| Design & Creative | 127 | +14% | |
| Data & Analytics | 115 | -14% | |
| AI & Machine Learning | 60 | +71% |
Employers stepping up, and slowing down
New jobs in the last 30 days compared with the 30 days before, for employers we have tracked throughout. Recruitment agencies and job boards are left out.
Posting more
- Qiddiya | القدية11 222
- AECOM121 277
- Parsons76 216
- AtkinsRéalis50 118
- Emirates Group37 105
Posting less
- Rotana Hotels203 89
- GEMS Education330 235
- Hired82 0
- IHG Hotels & Resorts138 102
- First Abu Dhabi Bank80 46
Skills employers ask for
The skills named most often in new adverts over the last 30 days. General soft skills are left out.
- 1Excel2,228
- 2Project management1,622
- 3Inventory management1,428
- 4Risk management1,273
- 5Data analysis1,269
- 6Regulatory compliance1,214
- 7Budgeting1,163
- 8Business development1,088
- 9Quality assurance959
- 10Guest service945
- 11Client relationship management918
- 12AutoCAD893
- 13Project coordination888
- 14Forecasting875
- 15Vendor management855
Rising fastest
Like-for-like change vs the previous 30 days, on at least 30 adverts.
- Electrical Engineering+174%
- HSE compliance+125%
- Administrative support+118%
- Primavera P6+104%
- Documentation and reporting+100%
- Mechanical Engineering+97%
- Cost management+94%
- Civil Engineering+89%
- Project coordination+85%
- Construction Management+83%
What employers ask for, and what CVs show
For each field: the skills named most in new adverts, and how often CVs uploaded to JobXDubai mention them (5,060 anonymous CVs). A CV mentions far more skills than an advert lists, so compare down each column, not across.
Engineering & Technology
| Skill | In adverts | In CVs |
|---|---|---|
| Troubleshooting | 7% | 26% |
| Python | 6% | 47% |
| Project management | 6% | 16% |
| Change management | 4% | 11% |
| Kubernetes | 4% | 11% |
| Documentation | 4% | 39% |
4,268 adverts, 1,484 CVs
Sales & Business Development
| Skill | In adverts | In CVs |
|---|---|---|
| Business development | 22% | 57% |
| Customer relationship management | 14% | 15% |
| Account management | 13% | 29% |
| Lead generation | 12% | 22% |
| Client relationship management | 12% | 15% |
| Relationship management | 10% | 41% |
4,039 adverts, 513 CVs
Finance & Accounting
| Skill | In adverts | In CVs |
|---|---|---|
| Financial reporting | 33% | 65% |
| Excel | 29% | 82% |
| Budgeting | 18% | 37% |
| Accounts receivable | 18% | 32% |
| Accounts payable | 18% | 44% |
| Financial analysis | 15% | 28% |
2,000 adverts, 487 CVs
Construction & Engineering
| Skill | In adverts | In CVs |
|---|---|---|
| AutoCAD | 12% | 59% |
| Risk management | 9% | 23% |
| Project management | 9% | 39% |
| Project coordination | 8% | 15% |
| Quality assurance | 8% | 17% |
| Civil Engineering | 8% | 43% |
5,764 adverts, 357 CVs
Hospitality & Tourism
| Skill | In adverts | In CVs |
|---|---|---|
| Guest service | 15% | 27% |
| Inventory management | 11% | 17% |
| Food preparation | 10% | 10% |
| Food safety | 10% | 32% |
| Food and beverage service | 7% | 10% |
| Guest services | 7% | 6% |
6,223 adverts, 303 CVs
Marketing & Communications
| Skill | In adverts | In CVs |
|---|---|---|
| Digital marketing | 20% | 72% |
| Budget management | 18% | 13% |
| Brand management | 15% | 12% |
| Social media management | 14% | 13% |
| Content creation | 13% | 27% |
| Campaign management | 12% | 17% |
1,185 adverts, 220 CVs
Human Resources
| Skill | In adverts | In CVs |
|---|---|---|
| Employee relations | 29% | 61% |
| Onboarding | 21% | 86% |
| Performance management | 20% | 46% |
| Workforce planning | 15% | 47% |
| Excel | 12% | 54% |
| Recruitment | 12% | 86% |
933 adverts, 168 CVs
Operations & Logistics
| Skill | In adverts | In CVs |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory management | 13% | 34% |
| Excel | 12% | 64% |
| Data analysis | 9% | 10% |
| Vendor management | 8% | 22% |
| Process improvement | 5% | 28% |
| ERP systems | 5% | 17% |
2,910 adverts, 134 CVs
Healthcare & Medical
| Skill | In adverts | In CVs |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical documentation | 9% | 36% |
| Patient education | 8% | 26% |
| ACLS | 6% | 27% |
| CPR | 6% | 15% |
| Patient care | 6% | 57% |
| Infection control | 6% | 39% |
1,314 adverts, 96 CVs
Design & Creative
| Skill | In adverts | In CVs |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Photoshop | 28% | 51% |
| Adobe Illustrator | 26% | 35% |
| Typography | 23% | 29% |
| Graphic design | 18% | 45% |
| Figma | 17% | 49% |
| Branding | 16% | 51% |
530 adverts, 65 CVs
Education & Training
| Skill | In adverts | In CVs |
|---|---|---|
| Classroom management | 20% | 40% |
| Curriculum development | 11% | 21% |
| Lesson planning | 10% | 48% |
| Curriculum planning | 7% | 13% |
| Differentiated instruction | 6% | 45% |
| Professional development | 5% | 45% |
907 adverts, 62 CVs
Where competition for jobs is highest
Each field's share of the CVs uploaded to JobXDubai against its share of new jobs. Above 1 means more job seekers than openings, relative to other fields. Our CVs are a sample, so read this as a comparison between fields, not a count of applicants.
| Field | Share of CVs | Share of new jobs | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering & Technology | 38% | 12% | 3.2x |
| Finance & Accounting | 12% | 6% | 2.2x |
| Human Resources | 4% | 3% | 1.7x |
| Marketing & Communications | 6% | 3% | 1.7x |
| Sales & Business Development | 13% | 11% | 1.2x |
| Design & Creative | 2% | 1% | 1.1x |
| Healthcare & Medical | 2% | 4% | 0.7x |
| Construction & Engineering | 9% | 16% | 0.6x |
| Education & Training | 2% | 3% | 0.6x |
| Operations & Logistics | 3% | 8% | 0.4x |
| Hospitality & Tourism | 8% | 17% | 0.4x |
Available talent in the UAE
Candidates on JobXDubai who are open to approaches from verified employers right now, counted when this page was refreshed. Groups smaller than 5 are left out, and we never show names, employers, nationality, age or gender.
Open to new roles
2,987
Visible to verified employers
Joined in the last 7 days
211
Can start within a month
192
Of 219 who gave a notice period
By field
- Engineering & Technology419
- Finance & Accounting207
- Sales & Business Development197
- Product Management179
- Data & Analytics161
- Operations & Logistics118
- Marketing & Communications86
- Construction & Engineering83
- Design & Creative70
- Administrative57
By experience
- 0 to 2 years508
- 3 to 5 years656
- 6 to 10 years776
- More than 10 years1,036
Out of 2,976
Where they are
- Dubai1,131
- Outside the UAE1,045
- Abu Dhabi196
- Sharjah85
- Ajman22
- Al Ain14
- Ras Al Khaimah9
Top skills
- Excel490
- Python484
- SQL421
- Power BI393
- Jira245
- Docker221
- Git213
- JavaScript200
- AWS187
- Tableau168
Top certifications
- PMP130
- Six Sigma108
- Scrum Master91
- Microsoft Azure90
- AWS Certified82
- ITIL55
- Google Cloud39
- PRINCE233
- BLS32
- DHA licence30
Top languages
- English1,961
- Arabic555
- French181
- Spanish125
- German77
- Russian69
- Mandarin19
CV quality
From CVs checked with our free ATS checker in the last 30 days. Anonymous totals only: we keep the score and the gaps found, never the CV.
CVs checked, last 30 days
913
Average ATS score
68/100
Across 913 scored CVs
Score distribution
- Under 501%
- 50 to 6952%
- 70 to 8447%
Most common gaps
- No certifications section55%
- No LinkedIn link43%
- No skills section29%
- No profile summary18%
- Longer than two pages13%
Hiring in the UAE?
Describe the role and Layla, our AI recruiter, shortlists the candidates who fit.
What employers require
From the requirements in 28,921 open adverts. The typical ask is the median.
40%
ask for a degree
5
years of experience, typical ask
1%
ask for a driving licence
2%
require Arabic
| Field | Years asked | Degree | Credentials asked for most |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitality & Tourism | 2 | 28% | CPR certification, First aid certificate, HACCP |
| Construction & Engineering | 8 | 61% | PMP, NEBOSH IGC, MRICS |
| Engineering & Technology | 5 | 38% | Ph.D., Secret, PMP |
| Sales & Business Development | 3 | 33% | experience, bilingual, BA/BS |
| Operations & Logistics | 4 | 39% | ATPL, Secret, CIPS |
| Finance & Accounting | 4 | 47% | SOCPA, CA/ACCA/CPA |
| Healthcare & Medical | 2 | 31% | BLS, DHA licence, MBBS or equivalent |
| Energy & Sustainability | 7 | 65% | MME accreditation |
| Education & Training | 3 | 28% | Ph.D., IELTS 6.0, 6.0 |
| Marketing & Communications | 5 | 26% | |
| Executive & Management | 7 | 35% | PMP |
| Legal & Compliance | 5 | 38% | Bar admission, Qualified lawyer |
| Human Resources | 4 | 41% | |
| Administrative | 3 | 39% | |
| Design & Creative | 4 | 25% | |
| Real Estate & Property | 3 | 30% | Valid Real Estate License |
| Data & Analytics | 5 | 37% | |
| Customer Support | 2 | 34% | |
| AI & Machine Learning | 5 | 36% | CAD licence |
| Product Management | 5 | 25% |
Advertised pay, as employers state it
Only adverts where the employer published a salary (1,473 open jobs). Typical (median) monthly range, in AED, for fields with at least 30 such adverts.
| Field | Typical advertised range | Adverts |
|---|---|---|
| Executive & Management | AED 35.5k to 46k a month | 46 |
| Energy & Sustainability | AED 25k to 41k a month | 60 |
| Legal & Compliance | AED 23k to 35k a month | 33 |
| Construction & Engineering | AED 20k to 34.5k a month | 214 |
| Engineering & Technology | AED 20k to 30k a month | 129 |
| Finance & Accounting | AED 19k to 30k a month | 93 |
| Human Resources | AED 14.5k to 22.5k a month | 35 |
| Marketing & Communications | AED 14.5k to 22k a month | 53 |
| Healthcare & Medical | AED 14.5k to 20.5k a month | 96 |
| Education & Training | AED 12k to 19.5k a month | 43 |
| Sales & Business Development | AED 12k to 17.5k a month | 133 |
| Design & Creative | AED 10k to 16k a month | 32 |
| Operations & Logistics | AED 8k to 12k a month | 121 |
| Administrative | AED 7.5k to 11k a month | 42 |
| Hospitality & Tourism | AED 5.5k to 7k a month | 215 |
Adverts that state pay lean towards some employers and roles, so this is what advertised jobs offer, not what everyone earns.
What open jobs pay: our estimate
Most Gulf adverts don't state a salary, so these bands use our own estimate for each open job (the employer's figure when they give one). Individual estimates can be well off, so read this as the shape of the market, not a salary guide.
Open jobs by estimated monthly pay
- Under AED 5k9%
- AED 5k to 10k29%
- AED 10k to 20k41%
- AED 20k to 35k10%
- AED 35k and above11%
Estimate. 28,423 of 28,921 open jobs have a pay figure.
Adverts that state the pay
5%
Of jobs open now, the share where the employer published a salary. This one is a count, not an estimate.
Who the jobs are for
New jobs open to entry-level and junior candidates
25%
Last 30 days. The 30 days before: 17% (up 8 points).
New jobs reserved for GCC nationals
4%
Adverts that say the role is for Emirati, Saudi or other GCC nationals only. Last 30 days.
- Customer Support12%
- Administrative10%
- Finance & Accounting6%
- Data & Analytics5%
- Human Resources5%
How long jobs stay open, by field
Median days from posting to closing, for jobs closed in the last 90 days.
- AI & Machine Learning15 days
- Real Estate & Property15 days
- Design & Creative17 days
- Human Resources20 days
- Engineering & Technology20 days
- Administrative21 days
- Operations & Logistics21 days
- Customer Support22 days
- Marketing & Communications22 days
- Construction & Engineering24 days
- Finance & Accounting25 days
- Executive & Management25 days
- Sales & Business Development26 days
- Energy & Sustainability26 days
- Data & Analytics26 days
- Product Management27 days
- Hospitality & Tourism27 days
- Legal & Compliance27 days
- Healthcare & Medical32 days
- Education & Training38 days
Most active employers
By new jobs posted in the last 30 days.
- 1Marriott International1,784
- 2Hilton1,044
- 3Larsen & Toubro854
- 4Accor785
- 5AECOM425
- 6Parsons412
- 7IHG Hotels & Resorts328
- 8Apparel Group288
- 9GEMS Education241
- 10Qiddiya | القدية222
Where the new jobs are
New jobs in the last 30 days, by city.
Use this data
Journalists, researchers and bloggers are welcome to quote, embed and chart these numbers. Please credit JobXDubai with a link to this page.
JobXDubai, "Gulf job market pulse", data as of 25 October 2026. https://jobxdubai.com/job-market
Source: <a href="https://jobxdubai.com/job-market">JobXDubai Gulf job market pulse</a> (data as of 25 October 2026)
Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit "JobXDubai" with a link to jobxdubai.com/job-market.
How we count
- Jobs open now are live listings on JobXDubai: collected daily from employer career pages and job boards, checked for dead links, with duplicates removed.
- A new job is a listing we first saw within 14 days of its posting date, so an employer's backlog of old adverts never counts as fresh hiring.
- Trends compare like with like: only employers we were already tracking in that country before the period began. When we add a new source, its jobs count as open jobs but not as growth.
- We only show a percentage change on a big enough base: at least 300 new jobs in the earlier period (30 for a single field or skill, 15 for an employer). Below that, small numbers swing too much to mean anything.
- Pay bands are estimates. Most adverts don't state pay, so we estimate it per job. The share of adverts stating pay is an exact count.
- The Hiring Index counts new postings each week from a fixed group of employers we already tracked before its base period, against the average of its four base weeks (= 100). A field gets its own index once it averaged at least 30 new jobs a week in the base period.
- Requirements come from the requirements written in each open advert (years, degrees, licences, credentials, languages). Spellings of the same credential are merged.
- Advertised pay uses only salaries the employer published, never our estimates, and only where at least 30 adverts in a field state one.
- CV figures come from CVs uploaded to JobXDubai, including free CV checks, stored as anonymous statistics: the skills a CV mentions and a likely field. We never keep or publish the CVs themselves.
- Time open runs from posting to closing. It leaves out jobs from feeds where we retire adverts ourselves after a fixed age, which would otherwise make every field look the same.
- Tracking began Bahrain: July 2026, Kuwait: July 2026, Oman: July 2026. Updated 25 October 2026.
Job market by field
- AI & Machine Learning
- Engineering & Technology
- Sales & Business Development
- Marketing & Communications
- Finance & Accounting
- Human Resources
- Legal & Compliance
- Operations & Logistics
- Product Management
- Design & Creative
- Data & Analytics
- Customer Support
- Healthcare & Medical
- Education & Training
- Construction & Engineering
- Real Estate & Property
- Energy & Sustainability
- Hospitality & Tourism
- Executive & Management
- Administrative
Job market by city
Job market by role: hiring data for the 100 most common jobs, from accountants to sous chefs. Who is hiring: every employer with 10 or more open jobs.
Looking for a role? Browse every open job. Writing about the Gulf job market? See our press page.