Prime Highlight
- The UAE is set to become one of the world’s fastest-growing labour markets, with strong job creation driven by technology, manufacturing, education, and healthcare.
- Artificial intelligence is expected to reshape roles rather than cut jobs, increasing demand for skilled workers who can deploy and manage new technologies.
Key Facts
- The UAE will need 03 million additional workers by 2030, expanding its workforce by 12.1%, far outpacing growth in the US and UK.
- Demand for technology jobs will surge by 54%, requiring over 91,000 new tech workers, including programmers, systems analysts, and digital marketing specialists.
Background
The UAE is set to create more than one million new jobs by 2030, making it one of the fastest-growing labour markets in the world, according to a new study by ServiceNow and Pearson.
The Workforce Skills Forecast 2025 report estimates the country will need 1.03 million additional workers over the next five years. This will lift the UAE’s total workforce by 12.1%. In comparison, the US is expected to grow by just 2.1%, the UK by 2.8%, and India by 10.6%.
Manufacturing is expected to create about 133,000 jobs. Education and retail will add nearly 78,000 and 60,000 new jobs. Finance and healthcare will also grow, creating over 40,000 and 39,000 jobs.
In percentage terms, energy and utilities will see the fastest growth at 33%, followed by education at 31% and manufacturing at 18%.
The report says artificial intelligence will not reduce jobs overall, but will reshape them. In financial services, for example, AI tools could perform tasks equal to 17,000 full-time roles. Still, total employment in the sector is expected to rise by 26% as firms need people to deploy and manage new technology.
Technology jobs will grow much faster than the wider workforce. While the overall market will expand by 12.1%, demand for tech roles will surge by 54%. By 2030, companies will need more than 91,000 extra tech workers, taking the total well above today’s 169,000.
Search marketing strategists, programmers, and systems analysts will be among the fastest-growing roles.
To address skills gaps, ServiceNow launched ServiceNow University to help people reskill for an AI-driven economy. The report uses data from 5,600 roles across 10 countries.
