The vibrant job market in Dubai is witnessing a spike in AI-related job postings in the white-collar sector, according to a study. The report added that AI jobs have doubled from 5,000 to 10,000 between 2021 and 2024.
The trend is visible across sectors like financial services, aviation, and logistics, UAE-based Khaleej Times quoted recruiters.
“We are seeing strong demand for candidates with AI capability across sectors such as financial services, aviation, logistics, and professional services in the UAE. Rather than a fixed salary premium, the defining factor is competition — employers are often competing for a limited pool of proven talent,” James Randall, Middle East sales director, HireRight, told Khaleej Times. He added that the trend has pushed hiring timelines and improved cross-border recruitment for specialised roles. The job opportunities in the Emirates are also growing two to three times faster in the UAE than overall job postings, reports added.
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This comes amid a prediction by ServiceNow that said over 1.03 million jobs will be created in the UAE by 2030. The company claims that the majority of these jobs will not be traditional, rather spanning across a broad sectors, including IT service management, cyber security, workflow automation, digital operations and business roles augmented by AI-enabled tools.
That said, the UAE employers will continue to prioritise degrees, even for roles with higher AI exposure. As per the study, over 84 per cent of job postings will still require degree qualifications.
According to Randall, the demand in the UAE for AI jobs is also shifting away from purely technical or coding-based roles and is moving toward applied AI capabilities that can deliver practical business value. “Employers are increasingly looking for professionals who can use AI to support decision-making, automation, compliance monitoring, customer experience, and risk management," added Randall.