UAE job market report: September 2026
Covers the 30 days to 30 September 2026. Published 1 October 2026. These numbers are frozen and will not change.
Key findings
- New jobs
- 11,544 new jobs were posted in the UAE in September 2026, up 7% on the month before among employers we tracked in both months. 10,900 jobs closed over the same period, and 12,083 were open at the end of it.
- Fields
- Engineering & Technology had the most new jobs (1,210). Education & Training grew fastest, up 113% on the month before.
- Employers
- Marriott International posted the most new jobs (458). GEMS Education stepped up hiring the most, from 131 new jobs the month before to 345. ADNOC slowed the most, from 214 to 94.
- Skills
- The skill employers named most was Excel, in 768 new adverts. Demand for Lesson planning rose fastest, up 81%.
- Pay and access
- Only 11% of open jobs stated a salary. Entry-level and junior roles made up 17% of new jobs (16% the month before). 3% of new jobs were reserved for GCC nationals.
New jobs in the month
11,544
Jobs closed in the month
10,900
Jobs open at the end of the month
12,083
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering & Technology | 1,210 | -6% | |
| Hospitality & Tourism | 890 | +12% | |
| Sales & Business Development | 800 | no change | |
| Operations & Logistics | 543 | +41% | |
| Finance & Accounting | 528 | +12% | |
| Education & Training | 494 | +113% | |
| Construction & Engineering | 405 | +13% | |
| Executive & Management | 261 | +27% | |
| Healthcare & Medical | 237 | -12% | |
| Marketing & Communications | 237 | +17% | |
| Administrative | 218 | +9% | |
| Human Resources | 218 | +56% | |
| Legal & Compliance | 129 | +8% | |
| Customer Support | 111 | +39% | |
| Data & Analytics | 111 | -26% | |
| Product Management | 88 | -19% | |
| Design & Creative | 80 | -5% | |
| Real Estate & Property | 67 | too early to tell | |
| AI & Machine Learning | 20 | -58% |
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
- GEMS Education131 345
- Rotana Hotels131 195
- Emirates Group0 52
- First Abu Dhabi Bank48 81
- Al-Futtaim Group99 127
Posting less
- ADNOC214 94
- Kerzner International158 79
- Jumeirah Group48 19
- Delivery Hero (talabat)30 9
- AD Ports Group20 3
Skills employers ask for
The skills named most often in new adverts over the last 30 days. General soft skills are left out.
- 1Excel768
- 2Office607
- 3Project management497
- 4Lead generation466
- 5Client relationship management459
- 6Inventory management458
- 7Budgeting425
- 8Data analysis385
- 9Regulatory compliance373
- 10Risk management369
- 11Business development358
- 12AutoCAD347
- 13Vendor management295
- 14Forecasting281
- 15Market research280
Rising fastest
Like-for-like change vs the previous 30 days, on at least 30 adverts.
- Lesson planning+81%
- Portion control+72%
- Stock management+70%
- Food preparation+69%
- Employee relations+62%
- Oracle+62%
- Outlook+62%
- CRM+57%
- CRM systems+57%
- Recruitment+53%
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 5k11%
- AED 5k to 10k18%
- AED 10k to 20k36%
- AED 20k to 35k18%
- AED 35k and above17%
Estimate. 12,048 of 12,083 open jobs have a pay figure.
Adverts that state the pay
11%
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
17%
Last 30 days. The 30 days before: 16% (up 1 points).
New jobs reserved for GCC nationals
3%
Adverts that say the role is for Emirati, Saudi or other GCC nationals only. Last 30 days.
- Administrative7%
- Customer Support6%
- Legal & Compliance6%
- Data & Analytics5%
- Finance & Accounting5%
Most active employers
By new jobs posted in the last 30 days.
- 1Marriott International458
- 2GEMS Education345
- 3Accor233
- 4Rotana Hotels195
- 5Hilton160
- 6IHG Hotels & Resorts134
- 7EDGE Group130
- 8Al-Futtaim Group127
- 9NMC Healthcare126
- 10AECOM120
Where the new jobs are
New jobs in the last 30 days, by city.
Cite this report
Free to quote under CC BY 4.0. Please credit JobXDubai with a link to this page.
JobXDubai, "UAE job market report: September 2026", published 1 October 2026. https://jobxdubai.com/job-market/reports/uae-job-market-september-2026
Source: <a href="https://jobxdubai.com/job-market/reports/uae-job-market-september-2026">JobXDubai, UAE job market report: September 2026</a>
How we count: see the methodology. Today's numbers: the live pulse. More months: all reports.