Stalled business growth in Dubai

IHS Markit recently pointed out that since at least a decade, business growth in Dubai stalled while jobs disappeared at the fastest pace. For the third straight month, operating conditions in Dubai’s non-oil private sector worsened to the lowest level in nearly four years this January. “Employment in Dubai was notably affected, with companies reporting the joint-quickest fall in job numbers seen throughout the 10-year series history,” opines David Owen, economist at IHS Markit. In the face of subdued demand, a lot of companies are opting for laying off workers. One such example is Emirates NBD, which is Dubai’s biggest bank. The study also noted that Dubai’s travel and tourism industry actually showed a “modest improvement” in January and that it faces disruptions because of the viral outbreak in China. However, some experts are hopeful about the situation improving depending on the success of Dubai’s much-awaited World Expo exhibition later in 2020.