Covid-19 shakes up GCC’s in-demand job profiles

Although the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the loss of millions of jobs, Gulf governments worked tirelessly to revive the economy.

As a result, the UAE and Saudi Arabia helped bring the Arab Gulf region’s unemployment rate back to pre-pandemic levels.

Now, the fastest-growing job profiles include a mix of both pandemic-resultant and non-pandemic-resultant positions.

Moreover, global trends such as Covid-19, a tight labor market, and an increasing emphasis on artificial intelligence are driving global and regional job growth.

Traditional jobs such as those in healthcare and core corporate operations are still in high demand. However, the need for high-tech personnel has risen to levels that resemble those seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a result, traditional jobs such as those in healthcare and core corporate operations are still in high demand.

However, the need for high-tech personnel has risen to levels that resemble those seen before the pandemic.

According to the Cooper Fitch research, in the fourth quarter of 2021, the software sector was the most attractive for employees, with 38 percent new joinings.

This was followed by the cyber employment sector (29 percent), sales and marketing (26 percent), and the public sector (25 percent).

On the other hand, sectors like investment, manufacturing, banking, and supply chain saw declines due to external pressure.

The research also predicted that Gulf states’ employment rates would climb 6-9 percent in 2022.

Rise in employment

A 21 percent employment jump in the fourth quarter of 2021 over the third quarter of the same year was recorded in Saudi Arabia.

Oman saw a 12 percent jump in the same period, while Kuwait’s rise was 11 percent, Bahrain 9 percent, Qatar 8 percent, and the United Arab Emirates 6 percent.

However, employment rates in the Gulf region rose 40 percent annually, thanks to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, according to Cooper Fitch’s research survey.

Top jobs in Arab countries

The pandemic and digitalization have influenced the most in-demand jobs.

According to a LinkedIn report titled The Fastest-Growing Jobs Around the World, job competition has dropped by 35 percent in the UAE.

However, jobseekers can now demand better negotiate salary and terms.

Here are some of the most in-demand roles within the UAE:

1. Content Coordinator
2. Back-end Developer
3. Data Scientist
4. Business Development Associate
5. E-commerce Coordinator

As for Saudi Arabia, the top five jobs in the market are:

1. Human Resources Operations Specialist
2. Legal Specialist
3. Cybersecurity Specialist
4. Talent Acquisition Specialist
5. User Experience Designer

In Egypt, however, we see machine learning and other technology positions in demand.

The top 5 jobs are as follows:

1. Media Buyer
2. Machine Learning Engineer
3. Talent Acquisition Specialist
4. Data Scientist
5. Insurance Specialist