The
UAE has one of the lowest unemployment
levels in the world, standing at only
2.4 per cent at the end of 2001 as a result
of high growth in the non-oil economy
and a government drive to find jobs for
citizens, according to official estimates.
The
country's workforce was estimated at
around 2.079 million last year, of which
nearly 2.029 million were employed,
the Ministry of Planning said in its
2002 annual report.
This
means around 50,000 people were jobless,
accounting for about 2.4 per cent of
the total labour force and just 1.4
per cent of the 3.48 million population.
The
ministry said it had revised its figures
for the workforce which it earlier estimated
at around 1.85 million at the end of
2001.
Experts
said the revision was apparently prompted
by drastic changes in the labour market
as thousands of expatriates had to leave
because of new labour policies while
a large number of nationals are taking
up jobs after reaching the legal job
age.
"Compared
to other developing or even developed
countries, the UAE's unemployment rate
is one of the lowest in the world,"
said a UAE banker.
But
experts noted official estimates do
not include thousands of illegal expatriate
residents who are not registered with
the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
Although some of them have part time
jobs in violation of labour laws, many
of them are unemployed.
More
than 200,000 illegal migrants, mostly
Asians, left the UAE five years ago
to benefit from a general amnesty ordered
by President His Highness Sheikh Zayed
bin Sultan Al Nahyan to clean up the
country from immigration violations
and restore discipline in the job market.
Another spardon is expected to be announced
in the next few weeks.
Although
actual unemployment rates might be higher,
the UAE does not have a real joblessness
given its strong economy and a serious
government campaign to employ nationals
through the creation of new jobs in
the public and private sectors and replacement
of expatriate workers.
Economists
said they saw no hurdles for such a
campaign as the non-oil economy is growing
by at least four per cent, which is
faster than the population growth.
"This
means the UAE can cope with the population
growth and at the same time maintain
its high per capita income which has
eroded sharply in other countries in
the region," an expert said.
A
breakdown by the Ministry of Planning
showed the UAE has never suffered from
a severe unemployment problem, with
the rate standing at only 1.9 per cent
in 1975.
It
fluctuated in the following years but
remained in the range of one to three
per cent.
The
level is expected to be maintained in
the following years as the government's
new labour policies focus on employment
of nationals and deportation of unnecessary
and unqualified foreign workers.
The
private sector will likely play a major
role in the employment of citizens given
its massive potential and the fact that
the public sector is saturated and is
not growing enough to accommodate large
numbers of new jobs.
|
