A new report from insurance and risk advisory firm Marsh suggests the UAE job market is heading toward 2027 with priorities shifting well beyond pay cheques, as job security, employee wellbeing and flexibility take on greater weight for workers.
Nishant Mahajan, Partner for People and Investments at Marsh Middle East and Africa, says 62 per cent of Middle East business leaders now cite talent scarcity as a top concern, compared with 54 per cent globally. That gap, he notes, is pushing companies to hire more cautiously and instead channel investment into organisational transformation, technology governance, risk management, skills development and innovation rather than simply expanding headcount.
The report also found that 64 per cent of employees would trade a 10 per cent pay rise for opportunities to develop AI and digital skills, while 74 per cent of HR leaders now rank employee experience and value proposition as a top organisational priority.
On artificial intelligence specifically, 83 per cent of employees said AI makes them more productive and 74 per cent expect it to improve their jobs overall. Still, 43 per cent said they fear AI could eventually cost them their job, pointing to a persistent undercurrent of anxiety even as adoption grows.
Mahajan argues that AI fluency is quickly moving from a specialist, siloed skill to a cross-functional capability expected across nearly every role in the UAE workforce. Employers who adapt their hiring and training strategies to reflect this shift, he suggests, will be better positioned to attract and retain skilled talent as the market evolves heading into 2027.