UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE UAE

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 001367 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/RA, DRL AND EB/CBA AMEMBASSY TUNIS HOLD FOR FSI: OLIVER JOHN USDOC FOR 4530/ITA/MAC/ONE/DGUGLIELMI, 4520/ITA/MAC/ONE/CLOUSTAUNAU, 4500/ITA/MAC/DAS/WILLIAMSON, 3131/CS/OIO/ANESA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB ECON SOCI TC SUBJECT: UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE UAE ¶1. (U) Local Arabic language press reported on March 15 that the official unemployment rate in the UAE was 2.6%, the lowest in the Arab world. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs supplied this information to the Arab Labor Force Conference held in Tunisia in early March. The official rate reported by the Emiratis was only for nationals and did not include unemployment in the foreign labor force. The following day however, local Arabic language press reported that the unemployment rate among nationals in Dubai was 10.43%, a statistic released by Dubai Municipality. ¶2. (SBU) Comment: If the unemployment rate among nationals is over 10% in Dubai, the second largest Emirate in the UAE, unemployment for the country is unlikely to be as low as 2.6%. National government unemployment figures are probably unreliable -- UAE macroeconomic information in general is suspect -- reflecting political agendas more than detailed and accurate statistical analysis. The Dubai figure is likely to be more credible as many nationals remain voluntarily unemployed due to unrealistic salary and work expectations even though the government has sought to convince Emiratis -- through training and work placement programs -- to consider a wider range of jobs, particularly in the private sector. Unfortunately, most Emiratis prefer the easier work environment and better benefits of the public sector, despite the fact that most of the jobs are in the private realm. Wahba