Abstract
This chapter takes a look at the composition of the UAE labor market highlighting the proportion of jobs available in various sectors and at various salary levels. Much of the literature available on Emiratization and the UAE labor market reports obtaining a desired salary as a prime motivating factor in Emirati career decision-making. Yet, few studies have investigated the actual proportion of jobs that are available within the desired salary range and whether Emiratis are being adequately prepared to fill those positions. This chapter presents and discusses salary distributions by controlling for different factors using available data sets. The salary data directly and indirectly show that industries and occupations in the private sector, for which Emiratis are being educated and trained, may not be aligned with salary expectations of Emirati job seekers. Evidence presented suggests that a deceptively low number of jobs are actually suitable for Emiratis in terms of salaries and working conditions or in terms of preparation needed to obtain and maintain employment. The resulting intense competition for suitable jobs among jobseekers, Emirati and non-Emirati, supports the need to introduce Emiratization efforts to assure opportunities for young Emirati adult job seekers.
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Daleure, G. (2017). Wages, Salaries, and Expatriate Labor. In: Emiratization in the UAE Labor Market. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2765-9_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2765-9_6
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