UAE attracts highest percentage of professional talent globally in 2014

The UAE was the top destination globally for migrating professionals in 2014, gaining 1.89 per cent of the total workforce, according to a study by professional networking site LinkedIn.

This figure was drawn from an analysis of every new position that was added to member profiles last year, LinkedIn said.

India was the leading source market for migrating talent to the UAE, attracting 28 per cent of professionals last year. Other top source markets for professional talent were the United Kingdom, Pakistan, the United States and Qatar.

About 11 per cent of talent was also found to have migrated from other Gulf countries to the UAE, the study found.

Some of the top sectors that attracted talent were professional services, architectural and engineering, financial services and insurance, technology (software), and retail and consumer products.

The study was tweeted by the UAE’s VP, PM and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who said that talented professionals choose the UAE as they “value opportunity, quality of life, transparency, good governance and sustainable growth.”

“It is especially interesting that the results of this study show that the UAE’s attractiveness as an employment market is no longer limited to the traditional sources of talent, which for years have been India, Pakistan, and other Arab states,” said LinkedIn MENA’s head of talent solutions Ali Matar.

“The study clearly shows that there is a high international appeal, especially from the United Kingdom and the United States, establishing the UAE as a globally desirable destination for migration. This confirms the country’s status as a strong economy and an appealing working environment that is highly capable of competing on a global scale.”

The LinkedIn study follows another report by health services provider Aetna International that found Dubai was the most searched destination by US jobseekers looking to move abroad.

The studies suggest the UAE is winning a war of talent with Qatar, despite generally higher salaries offered in the latter. Although there have been indications that regional recruitment is being impacted by ongoing oil price volatility.

According to Morgan Mckinley’s UAE Quarterly Employment Monitor, recruitment activity slipped 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter in Q2.

However, the study predicted that the UAE’s professional job market would grow by 5 to 10 per cent in the remaining half of 2015.