A member of the Federal National Council urged the government to create more jobs for unemployed Emiratis, citing the Economy Ministry's figures which put joblessness among Emiratis at 15 per cent.

Saeed Nasser Al Khatheri, a representative from Ras Al Khaimah, sought to know from Humaid Mohammad Al Qutami, Minister of Education and chairman of the Federal Human Resource Authority, about what the authority is doing to keep pace with the high demand for jobs. He asked how a country like the UAE with an economy creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and where citizens account for less than 15 per cent of the population, could have an unemployment problem.

"Jobs are provided only to three per cent of jobseekers," Al Khatheri said, stressing that employment was a national priority to achieve the aspirations of the people of the UAE and to ensure their welfare and a decent living for them.

In a letter, Al Qutami said 94 per cent of administrative jobs in ministries were held by Emiratis, while citizens account for 20 per cent of jobs among medical professionals and 65 per cent among educational professionals. "Ministries and federal departments offered jobs to 1,500 Emiratis last year and a similar number the year before," Al Qutami said.

But the representative insisted that the minister show up in person at the next session to discuss the issue in detail.

There are 35,000 unemployed Emiratis in the UAE, and only seven per cent of citizens work in the private sector, according to statistics from the Ministry of Economy.

Official estimates put the number of Emirati jobseekers at between 12,000 and 13,000 annually in Abu Dhabi alone, with the emirate expecting to create more than 600,000 new jobs over the next decade.

Hamad Ahmad Al Rahoumi, a representative from Dubai, demanded that marketing and management of the fishing industry, valued at more than the Dh1 billion, be emiratised.

“Emiratis can only realise the fruits of fish industry by emiratising the marketing and management of this important resource. Monopoly by foreigners of the industry adversely affects food security of the country,” Al Rahoumi said.

Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd, minister of environment and water, agreed with the representative and vowed to work towards transferring supervision of fishermen societies from the Ministry of Social Affairs to the Environment Ministry to work toward the goal of emiratising the fishing industry.