The United Arab Emirates recently announced the decision to provide unemployment insurance to all workers in the country.
The decision is significant given the fact that unemployment rate in the country is one of the lowest in the world. For example, Dubai’s unemployment rate is only 0.5 percent even though its population has been rising consistently over the past decades.
The Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation Abdulmannan Al Awar had reaffirmed the announcement by the UAE Prime Minister and Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to raise the percentage of Emiratisation, which supports the strategic economic security of the UAE.
The unemployment insurance is part of UAE’s efforts to attract and retain employees by reducing business risks, so that the employees who lose their jobs will receive cash support for a period of time until the employee finds another job.
Al Awar had hailed the unemployment insurance as a step in increasing the attractiveness of the UAE labor market and its ability to attract local and international talent by way of incentives and safety nets that support healthy and sustainable economic growth.
TRENDS looks at the key aspects of the unemployment insurance scheme.