Employment opportunities in the Middle East declined by -26% in April with occupations in the software, hardware and telecom occupations registering the steepest annual declines, according to the Monster employment index. Healthcare bucked the trend and posted the strongest annual growth.

The index is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity in the Middle East, reviewing tens of thousands of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career sites and online job listings.

It indicates that employers in the region have become more cautious. “The double digit drop in the Monster Employment index is reflective of the cautious approach adopted by Middle East employers owing to the business scenario globally.

“All major industry sectors across Middle East have shown a decline in the hiring activity,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director of Monster.com (India/ Middle- East/ South East Asia).

Industries to note a decline in activity last month include chemicals/ plastic/ rubber, paints, fertilizer/ pesticides (down -32%).  Geographic trends show that employment opportunities improved in Egypt (+6%) and Bahrain (+5%) while Kuwait registered an annual decline of -23%, the same rate as the UAE.