The Monster Employment Index for Qatar shows online hiring has fallen by an average of 20% each month since January.

The index is a monthly gauge of online job hiring activity by Monster.com, which records the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth.

The month-on-month drop between January and June has averaged 20%, with some months dropping to 21% and others hovering at 17%.

 “Over the last few months, the MEI has indicated a steady decline in employment opportunities,” Sanjay Modi, managing director, APAC and Middle East at Monster.com, said. “The recently imposed restrictions on trade and travel to Qatar brought in by UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and other countries are beginning to affect employment even more. Qatar’s economy relies on a large expatriate workforce and the longer that the restrictions continue, the more expatriates will consider their options.”