UAE Hiring Sentiment Swings Sharply as 25% of Firms Plan Cuts but Large Companies and Key Sectors Remain Optimistic

The share of UAE companies planning to reduce headcount rose to 25 percent from 7 percent three months earlier, according to a ManpowerGroup survey of 546 employers released June 9, 2026. Geopolitics and economic uncertainty were the reasons most frequently cited by employers expecting to cut staff.

The survey provides one of the few forward-looking indicators available because the UAE does not publish consistent labor-market data.

Large firms with thousands of employees remained the most optimistic, with one third expecting to hire. Smaller businesses showed a greater tendency to reduce payrolls. The logistics and trade sector became the only major industry to turn negative on hiring.

That sector has been affected most directly by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Finance, healthcare, and public-sector employers continued to plan net staff increases. The swing in sentiment was steeper in the UAE than in any other Middle East country tracked by ManpowerGroup.

The country had been expanding hiring before the recent deterioration in regional conditions.