Gulf job market sheds 90,000 jobs in 2009

By Ribal Dayekh in Dubai
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-03-06

[STR/AFP/Getty Images] Foreign workers have been hit hard by rising unemployment in the Gulf region.

The first Arab report on unemployment published by the Arab Labour Organization on Monday (March 1st) showed that a total of 90,000 jobs were lost during 2009.

The study sounded alarms about rising unemployment in the Arab region [this includes countries in the Gulf, North Africa and the Levant]. There are about 17 million people without jobs. The real unemployment rate in the Arab region is about 14%.

There is a disparity in the contribution by the various sectors of the economy in creating jobs in Arab countries. The service sector is the biggest employer in the Gulf while agriculture is the biggest employer in less developed countries. Manufacturing provides most of the jobs in Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon and Egypt.

The workforce in the Gulf is about 14 million. More than 80% of the population in Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait work in government jobs. The population in the Arab region reached 340 million in 2008.

A study conducted by the global executive search firm Kinsey Allen International published Monday indicated that the financial services sector in Qatar created more than 5,000 jobs since the beginning of 2010. The financial services sector contributed to a 35% annual growth rate over the last four years.

Growth rate in Qatar stays strong

Qatar, one of the biggest exporters of Liquified Natural Gas worldwide, is one country that maintained a high economic growth rate throughout 2009, and it expanded its economic investments by more than 11%.

In January Qatar lowered the tax rate for businesses to 10%, from a previous rate of 35%.

Kuwait real estate prices on the rise

In Kuwait, a study by Global Investment House showed that residential real estate in Kuwait will gradually increase in price from 10 to 15% in the first half of 2010 because of financing extended by Sharia-compliant banks.

The study pointed out that residential real estate will continue to play a key role in the real estate market while continued population growth in Kuwait will boost demand for residential property. It expects rental rates to remain at their current low value in various regions with the possibility that they could get lower in the first half of 2010.

Jordan real estate on the rise

Jordanian real estate trading rose 667 million dinars in the first months of this year compared to 577 million dinars in 2009. Trading in the real estate market for February reached 336 million dinars, compared to 291 million dinars in the same period in 2009.

A report by the Jordan Land and Survey Department published on Thursday (March 4th) showed increased revenues, reaching 37.5 million dinars for the months of January and February, compared to 36.6 million dinars in the same period in 2009.

UAE investor buys stake in Algerian auto parts maker

Aabar Investments, based in the UAE, a subsidiary of the International Petroleum Investment Company that is wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, said that it bought 24.5% of the capital of the Algerian Automotive Joint Venture to manufacture auto products in Algeria.

Aabar Investments has signed a shareholders' agreement and articles of association with the Algerian government and German companies to create the first joint venture for manufacturing automobiles. It will be among three others working in the same sector. Aabar's stake is worth about 5.46 million euros in the total capital.

Aabar Investments represents the UAE side in this venture, and is the biggest shareholder in Daimler. The German side represents specialized companies in mechanical industries, which includes MAN Ferrostaal for plant construction. The investments of the joint venture between Aabar and the German companies in the Algerian market are estimated at 2.6 billion dirhams ($720 million).

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