UAE tops the world in 5 labour market rankings

Dubai: The UAE has topped several global labour market indices issued by international entities.

The UAE ranked first globally in the Talent Attractiveness Index as per the Global Prosperity Index 2023 issued by the UK’s Legatum Institute. The UAE also led the world across several indices within the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2022, issued by Switzerland’s International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

These indices include lack of labour disputes, low cost of severance compensation for workers, and working hours. The UAE also stood out for the low cost of severance compensation in the Global Innovation Index 2022, issued by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

The UAE was also ranked second globally across five indices within the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2022: the availability of specialised senior managers, employment rate, low unemployment, percentage of the expatriate workforce, and percentage of the labour force in the population.

Noura Al Marzouqi, Assistant Undersecretary for Policy and Strategy at the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), said: “The UAE’s leadership across different international indices is result of our ongoing national efforts to modernise the legislative and legal system, deliver world-class infrastructure, and a resilient and robust economic environment to attract investments and talent from across the globe. The new legislative package has significantly boosted the work environment and propelled the UAE’s journey towards improving its ranking across global competitiveness indices.”

Role of private sector

She added: “In line with the wise leadership’s vision and directives, MoHRE is exerting sustained efforts to advance its labour market’s attractiveness, with a focus on encouraging the private sector’s role. The private sector is a strategic partner in the process of building an economic ecosystem that is the strongest, fastest, and most resilient in the region and the world, stimulating its ability to realising sustainable growth and increasing its GDP contribution.”

Noura Al Marzouqi continued: “We have set our sights on upskilling and empowering Emirati talent so they can join the labour market efficiently, while providing job opportunities that enable them to employ their expertise across priority sectors that bolster the future economy.

“The milestones we achieved drive us towards continually enhancing the business environment’s resilience and attractiveness, and its ability to attract and retain local and global expertise and skilled labour. This effectively helps us in building one of the strongest and fastest growing economies and positioning the UAE as one of the most attractive markets for talent, and a global model environment for life and work.”

Top 10 list

Hanan Ahli, Managing Director, Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC), said: “The UAE is an outstanding leader that has transformed itself into a global model and an international powerhouse in competitiveness. The milestones achieved by the UAE were reflected in its global leadership of many prominent global competitiveness indices that cover the labour market. This is seen as extraordinary international acclaim for the UAE government’s high efficiency and resilience in addressing global changes.”

She added: “At FCSC, we monitor 1,502 competitive indices in the most prominent global reports. The UAE was among the top 10 nations around the world across 432 indices we cover, or nearly 30 per cent of all those global indices, ahead of many nations that have a long competitive legacy. The UAE also ranked first in the Arab world across 505 indices.

“These milestones resulted from the exceptional efforts exerted by all UAE’s institutions and the private sector to support the UAE’s overall competitiveness and bolster the national economy, across various areas from human resources to trade, industry, tourism, education, and healthcare, among other vital sectors.”