The UAE has topped several global labour market indices issued by international entities and institutions in a new accomplishment that reflects UAE’s pioneering global model for development.

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 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, 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.”

“In line with the wise leadership’s vision and directives, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (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,” she added.

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.”

Hanan Ahli, Managing Director of the 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.”

“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% 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,” she explained.

Meanwhile, the major international events scheduled to take place at Dubai World Trade Centre. As a leading regional events hub, the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) announced that 232 major international events would take place in Dubai over the next few years, which will boost the local economy and enhance Dubai’s reputation as an international business and tourism destination. Mahir Abdulkarim Julfar, Executive Vice President of the DWTC, said that the business outlook for 2023 is optimistic, based on positive signs in the first quarter of 2023. Dubai hosted 4.67 million visitors in the first quarter of 2023, up 17 percent from 3.97 million in the same period last year, Julfar told the Emirates News Agency (WAM). This progress has enhanced Dubai’s reputation as a leading destination for business tourism and conferences, with the DWTC hosted 36 events in the same period of 2023, up from 25 events in 2022, he added. The centre’s exhibitions in 2022 performed remarkably well, attracting 12,000 exhibitors, a 35 percent rise from the previous year, and drawing more than 37,000 companies to the events hosted by the centre, he further added.

WAM