UAE hiring rose 16% between April and September, according to the second edition of the Naukrigulf Hiring Index, released in the company’s official statement dated 11 November 2026.
The index moved from 1,007 in April to 1,167 in September, Naukrigulf said in a statement distributed by AETOSWire. Jobs paying up to AED 10,000 a month, which make up the largest share of hiring, rose 24% over that period, the fastest recovery among the pay bands the company published.
This is a measure of employer hiring intent, drawn from new job postings, applicant review and employer searches of Naukrigulf’s candidate database. It is not a count of completed hires or job offers, and it is not official employment data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation or the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre.
Among the larger sectors, manufacturing and industrial recorded the strongest rise, at 32%. Healthcare and pharma each rose 26%, and real estate and construction, which accounts for nearly a quarter of all UAE hiring, rose 20%. Hospitality, travel and entertainment rose 63%, and automotive and transport rose 65%, both from low levels in April. IT and digital hiring stayed broadly unchanged over the six months and remains 8% lower than last year.
Sharad Sindhwani, executive vice president and business and product head at Naukrigulf, said: “Hiring in the Gulf is clearly picking up. Over the past six months, UAE hiring has risen steadily since May, led by engineering, manufacturing, healthcare and real estate. Hiring is still lower than last year, though the gap is closing fast, and jobs paying up to AED 10,000 a month, which account for the largest share of hiring, are recovering the quickest.”
UAE hiring by monthly pay
The rebound is strongest at the bottom of the advertised pay scale. Roles paying more than AED 30,000 a month are lower than they were in April; the official statement does not give a percentage for that fall.
Which industries and job functions rose since April
Core engineering, the largest job function and about a third of UAE hiring, rose 16% since April and is now at the same level as last year. That return to last year’s level applies to engineering, not to overall hiring. Operations rose 28%. Sales and marketing rose 21% since April but remain 21% below last year, according to the same statement.
How the index is built
The same family of reports also covers Qatar and Oman. The headline figures in this article are the UAE readings.
How this sits against the first edition
The April starting point of 1,007 matches Naukrigulf’s first edition of the index, which put the reading at 1,007 in April and 896 in May, against an April to May 2025 average of 1,231. That earlier edition is the source of the 23% April to May dip now cited as a comparison.
The UAE Hiring Index report page for July to September 2026 is dated as last updated on 30 October 2026. The public statement with the April to September figures was issued on 11 November. In short, the year-on-year gap has narrowed, from a 23% dip in April and May to about 9% in July to September, but UAE hiring has not returned to last year’s overall level.
For residents watching when wages land, the UAE now has a unified private-sector salary deadline from 1 June 2026. The index also sits against a wider labour-market picture we have already covered, including how Emirati and expat women are changing Dubai’s labour market and the question of whether people in Dubai are getting poorer as competition in the city grows.
To set the AED 10,000 band against typical monthly bills, see our guide to the cost of living in Dubai in 2026.