Online recruitment across the Gulf region reported an improvement of 9% in April 2022 when compared to April 2021, according to the latest data from the Monster Employment Index.

The Index continued to gain momentum as the index increased to 137 in April 2022 from 126 in April 2021. Month-on-month, the Index registered an upsurge of 7%.

Monster noted that online recruitment activity noticed robust hiring demand in last three months with 9% growth.

Online hiring demand in April 2022 exceeded April 2021 levels in 6 of the 13 Industries monitored by the Index. BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) saw a 62% increase.

On the other hand, Engineering, Construction and Real Estate (-14%), Healthcare (-14%) reported declines.

Meanwhile, online demand for professionals reflected growth in 7 of the 11 functional areas annually as monitored by the Index.

Finance and Account (+39%) saw notable hiring demand in April 2022 while Healthcare saw a 21% decline.

By country, the Monster Employment Index for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recorded a 5% upsurge in April 2022 from the year-ago level. IT and Telecom/ISP (+51%) continued to lead among all monitored industries, whereas Healthcare (-30%) saw a decrease over the year.

The UAE posted an increase of 9% in online recruitment activity in April 2022. Among job intensive sectors, BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) (+62%) continued to lead the long-term growth chart annually and Consumer Goods/ FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) recorded the steepest annual decline at 30%.

Bahrain (21%), Egypt (19%) and Kuwait (18%) saw the biggest yearly increases among Gulf countries. Oman (9%) and Qatar (1%) also reported growth.

The Index is a broad and comprehensive monthly and quarterly analysis of online job posting activity conducted by Monster.