The price of oil continues to hamper hiring activity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to global professional services recruiter Morgan McKinley. 

The firm’s second quarter 2015 UAE Employment Monitor found only a 1% rise in the number of new jobs in the professional market compared to the same period last year. 

Recruitment activity in the quarter fell 1% on the Q1 while the number of professional jobseekers fell 6% to 38,100, although that equated to a 3% increase year-on-year.

The firm noted the cost of living and doing business in the UAE remained key challenges with the hiring market being affected by the low price of oil. 

Trefor Murphy, Morgan McKinley managing director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement the trend was “quite worrying”.

“If you look at the employment market in the UK, Ireland, America, Australia and Asia, there is no need to come to the UAE anymore and yet two years ago everyone was looking to work in Dubai.”

He added other factors affecting hiring could have been summer holidays and the Muslim month-long commemoration of Ramadan.

Job growth was up in some sectors though, including property (10%), manufacturing (6%) and banking (3-4%).

The UAE Employment Monitor reports only on professional jobs across sectors where Morgan McKinley operates in the region including banking & financial services; accounting & finance; construction; energy; engineering; oil & gas; manufacturing; logistics & supply chain; sales and marketing; PR & corporate communications and office administration.

The figures were derived from Morgan McKinley’s own internal data from jobs released by employers and professionals registering in conjunction with market share figures and knowledge of the market.

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