ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Growth in the UAE’s non-oil private sector held steady in April, while employment rose at the fastest pace in 11 months as firms sought to reduce workloads and support new business growth, a survey showed on Monday.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stayed at 54.0 in April, unchanged from March, but firmly above the 50.0 level denoting growth.
New order growth quickened slightly from the previous month, with the new orders subindex rising to 56.9 in April from 56.3 in March, partly driven by the strongest upturn in international demand in five months.
Despite this, business activity growth slowed to a seven-month low, with firms facing challenges in completing existing work due to payment delays.
The subindex for employment registered a reading of 51.4, the highest in almost a year.
David Owen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said firms added staff mainly to reduce backlogs, which, although still rising sharply, did so at the slowest rate in six months.
“That said, employment growth was still modest overall, adding to suggestions that some firms may be struggling to recruit,” Owen said.
Looking ahead, firms remained optimistic, expecting that a strong sales pipeline and resilient market conditions would support future activity, with confidence at its highest level in 2025 so far.
Dubai’s non-oil private sector slowed again in April, with the headline PMI falling to 52.9 from 53.2 in March. Firms reported the slowest pace of growth in new business growth since October, and confidence about future activity levels weakened.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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