The employment landscape in Dubai has reached its highest point in two years, as indicated by the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from S&P Global, which reflects improvements in the operational conditions of the non-oil private sector during February, with the main index stabilizing at 54.6 points.
Overall, production rates and new order growth remained strong, with companies highlighting an increase in opportunities and new projects. Contributing factors to the rise in demand include marketing activities, the adoption of artificial intelligence, population growth, and an uptick in tourism.
Firms in Dubai’s non-oil sector reported increased efforts to boost their workforce in February. The hiring rate experienced a steady rise, marking the fastest pace in two years, aligned with positive forecasts for future activities.
Growth in the non-oil private sector in the UAE hit a 12-month high in February, driven by swift increases in business activities and new job creation. Supply chains showed further improvement, supporting inventory replenishment efforts, while declining fuel prices helped mitigate production cost pressures.
The S&P Global UAE PMI, a seasonally adjusted composite index designed to provide an accurate overview of operating conditions in the non-oil private sector, increased from 54.9 points in January to 55.0 in February, reaching its highest level in a year and indicating a strong recovery in non-oil business conditions.
UAE’s non-oil companies continued to expand their operations at a significant pace in February. The growth rate accelerated to its strongest level since April 2024, with participating companies attributing the substantial rise in production mainly to favorable demand conditions, successful contracts, targeted marketing efforts, and growth in sectors like construction, real estate, logistics, and technology.
This positive trend was further supported by a notable increase in new orders, with February data showing a sharp rise just slightly below the high recorded in January, which was close to a two-year peak.
**Increase in Tourism**
Several companies noted that the rise in tourism, the expansion of e-commerce channels, and heightened demand for AI-related products contributed to overall performance. Despite some external demand factors, growth in export sales remained modest, indicating that sales growth was primarily driven by domestic demand.
As businesses began implementing new projects and recorded strong demand flows alongside a backlog of administrative work and shipment inspections, the non-oil sector experienced a sharp increase in outstanding business. The accumulation rate accelerated significantly from a two-year low in January and aligned closely with the average for 2025.
Efforts to increase employee numbers continued in February, with workforce numbers slightly rising, marking the largest increase since November of the previous year.
Finally, robust demand levels sustained positive expectations for future activities. Production forecasts for the next 12 months remained strong, despite a slight decrease in confidence compared to the peak observed in January.
David Owen, a senior economist at S&P Global Market Research, stated, “The UAE PMI indicated the strongest growth in non-oil business conditions in a year during February, with production ramping up quickly in response to strong new business inflows. Thus far, the data paints an encouraging picture for the local economy in the first quarter.”
He further added: “The outlook also appears positive, with demand continuing to pressure companies’ operational capacities, suggesting a potential need for further increases in production and hiring. Additionally, firms faced relatively limited disruptions in production supply chains once again, with rapid improvements in delivery times. This allowed companies to rebuild their inventories, better positioning them to meet customer demands.”