Dubai: Foreign workers, including Indians, occupy 99 per cent of jobs in the private sector and 91 per cent in the public sector out of a total 3.1 million employees in the UAE.

Going by the trend, by 2009 UAE nationals will account for less than eight per cent of the workforce and by 2020 UAE nationals will account for less than four per cent, said a senior official.

Jasem Ahmad Al Ali of the Human Resources Department of Dubai Municipality said the private sector accounts for more than 52 per cent of the total jobs in the UAE, said a report in Gulf News.

Al Ali presented a research paper on Structural Barriers to Emiratisation: Analysis and Policy Recommendations at the Eighth International Business Research Conference held here recently.

He said the unemployment rate for UAE nationals is around 13 per cent. However, not all job-seekers are registered with Tanmia (The National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority) and those registered may not be prepared to take up work, but are seeking better opportunities.
Source : PTI