UAE to slash workforce

The number of foreign workers in the United Arab Emirates, who represent the backbone of the oil-rich economy, stood at 3.8 million in 2010, the labour minister said on Tuesday.

A rapid economic boom in the Gulf state led to more than doubling the number of foreign workers from 1.8 million in 2001 to four million in the peak year of 2007 before it dropped to 3.8 million by 2010 because of economic contraction in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2009.

The minister, Saqr Ghobash, said the country is aiming to reduce the number of unskilled foreign workers.

"The trend is to reduce the number of unskilled workers," he said, putting the number of workers with no qualifications at around two million, compared with around 266,000 foreign workers who have university degrees.

Ghobash also said the authorities aimed to create jobs for the growing number of UAE nationals joining the workforce, adding that "some 200,000 Emiratis will enter the market in the coming years."

The expat-dominated UAE population is estimated to have grown to around 8.2 million by the end of 2010, with UAE nationals making only 11.47 percent.

The country attracts workers from across the world, mainly from the Asian subcontinent, followed by the Arab world