Jobs | uae creates more blue collar jobs in 2024

UAE creates more blue collar jobs in 2024

The UAE job market has seen a significant surge in demand for both blue-collar and entry-level jobs, although white-collar recruitment continues to decline, according to a report by UAE-based recruitment company Innovations Group.

Offering insights workforce trends in the UAE, the study shows that blue-collar jobs have grown by 69% in 2024, primarily due to both residential and industrial construction. Overall, however, blue-collar hirings declined by 21% in 2024, despite the rising number of open positions, which indicates challenges in terms of attracting the right talent.

While the UAE government’s focus on economic diversification and infrastructure development has led to a considerable influx of new businesses, there has also been a simultaneous decline in the white-collar job market in the country.

Recruitment was down by 21% in 2024, driven by companies centralizing their support functions, such as customer service and finance, in offshore global hubs.

However, sales and business development positions remain in high demand due to their crucial role in driving growth for start-ups and new companies entering the UAE market.

Although companies continue to face challenges in sourcing talent for such sales and business development positions, the roles have remained in high demand. Demand for workers at entry-level positions, like receptionists and front-office staff, have also risen, with a specifically increased demand for foundational staff to support new commercial ventures.

“The UAE is a dynamic hub offering a pool of skilled workforce,” said Nikhil Nanda, Director at Innovations Group. “It is important for specialised recruitment agencies to develop strategic approaches to address hiring challenges and skill mismatches.”

In the coming 12 months, some key trends will shape job market in the UAE, the report said. The trend towards remote working is expected to continue in 2025, with more organizations adopting flexible work arrangements, including home and hybrid work models.

The rapidly advancing AI technologies are also poised to transform the recruitment process. AI tools will continue to be leveraged at work, with 74% of professionals in the region agreeing that AI tools can help them do their job better. As such, AI advancements are expected to speed up the entire recruitment process by automating tasks like CV screening and interview scheduling, improving candidate sourcing, and reducing bias through data-driven decision.

UAE issues $790m VAT refunds for citizens

The UAE has granted $790m in tax refunds for nationals building new homes, and also shared details of VAT waivers for tourists, the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has confirmed

It said its VAT-refund system for UAE nationals for the construction of new residences and the VAT-refund system for tourists had “achieved outstanding results in 2024, due to a continuous development of digitalisation plans”.

According to FTA statistics, the number of applications approved during 2024 for VAT refunds for UAE nationals hit 7,520 applications, worth a total AED704.38m ($192m).

The authority said that, regarding the digital VAT-refund scheme for tourists, the number of retail outlets linked electronically to the system “has witnessed a remarkable expansion across the UAE over the past years”.

It said the number of outlets registered for VAT-refund increased to 17,847 outlets by the end of 2024, compared to 16,357 outlets by the end of 2023 – an increase of 9% year-on-year.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Director-General of FTA, said: “The FTA pays great attention to the continuous development and update of its digital systems in accordance with global best practices, in line with the UAE’s digital transformation strategy.

“Indicators show that FTA’s efforts in this field have positively reflected on the quality and performance of its mandate in general, including the digital systems for VAT refunds for eligible categories.”

He added: “This has been achieved by introducing more facilities to streamline and accelerate the procedures related to self-service tax refund systems.

“Building on the positive results of the FTA’s development of digital services, during 2024, in 2025 we will continue to launch various projects and initiatives in the field of digital transformation in the tax sector to keep pace with the smart transformation strategy laid out by our wise leadership, which entails transformation of all services based on seamless and proactive digital procedures, supporting efforts to reduce bureaucracy and maintain high levels of customer happiness.”