Online recruitment across the Gulf region fell by 5% in August 2020 when compared to August 2019, according to data from the Monster Employment Index.

The Index monitors seven countries within the Gulf region. All seven countries recorded a year-on-year decline.

Qatar’s decrease was the least pronounced (-3%) followed by Egypt (-4%), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (-11%) and Oman (-13%). The biggest decrease was seen in the UAE (-53%), followed by Kuwait (-33%) and Bahrain (-19%).

On a month-on-month basis, the Index registered an uptrend of 3% across the Gulf region. This improvement in demand indicates that hiring is picking up among companies.

Among industries, healthcare (10%) and advertising, market research, PR, media (5%) led the increases in online recruitment. At the other end, retail/trade and logistics recorded a fall of 26%. Overall, across the Gulf region, online hiring demand in August 2020 exceeded August 2019 level in five of the 12 industries monitored by the Index.

Annual online demand for professionals fell in almost all the functional areas monitored by the Index. All the job-roles except Healthcare (3%) witnessed lessened year-on-year growth in August 2020 of which, HR & Admin (-30%) saw the steepest slump.