Unemployment in the UAE: A shocking number of job seekers in Sharjah

Official statistics revealed a shocking number of job seekers in the Emirate of Sharjah in light of the worsening unemployment crisis in the Emirates and the suffering of the country’s residents from discrimination and marginalization in appointments.

The Chairman of the Consultative Council of the Emirate of Sharjah, Ali Mehd Al-Suwaidi, stated that the council recently conducted a study on the employment file in the emirate, which showed that the number of job seekers in Sharjah is about 17,000 citizens, of whom only 3,000 are males.

Al Suwaidi stated that the Sharjah authorities had identified several mechanisms prioritizing employment. The first is the employment of at least one person from a family of four looking for work to create some income for this family, as well as giving priority to young people in employment to settle, marry and raise a family.

He added that a number of people suffer from real social problems, such as “debtors” to banks, and they are also prioritized for employment.

He stressed that all employment applications that reach the council are collected in a file and sent to human resources to inquire about the position of their owners, especially since some of them complain about the delay in responding to their appointment request for years, as we inquire about the position of their owners and the possibility of appointing them.

A press investigation highlighted that the UAE is witnessing widespread unemployment among its citizens, as well as marginalization and discrimination in appointments, with which government and private employment fairs have been unable to solve the dilemma of employing Emiratis and Emirati women alike.

This comes at a time when the UAE was ranked first regionally in the list of the best countries to work and live, and sixth globally as the best countries in the world preferred by foreign expatriates to work, and one of the most attractive countries for investors and international companies.

The opposition website Emirates 71 said that despite the lack of official data on the numbers or rates of unemployment, in addition to the varying numbers issued by the competent authorities, a Gulf study showed the presence of a large percentage of unemployment in the Emirates.

In a study prepared by the Research and Studies Department in the Office of the Consultative Body in the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council on immigrant labour and its risks to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and published by the official Emirati newspapers, it indicated that the unemployment rate among UAE nationals is about 14%.

On the other hand, the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority published a report on the country’s workforce, stating that the unemployment rate among citizens was only 2.2%.

The same government study indicated that 52.9% of the unemployed in the country have higher education and hold bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees or their equivalent, in addition to a higher diploma after university.