23/09/2026
"Right now, everybody in the UAE is competing for the same middle managers."
That was Bryan Luro, Country Manager at ManpowerGroup Middle East, speaking on Dubai Eye 103.8 this week. It's a big part of why nearly half of UAE employers are planning to hire more junior talent this quarter.
When the talent pool at mid-level is this tight, poaching from competitors gets expensive and slow. More companies are choosing to hire early instead, and grow those people themselves. They tend to stay longer, and they learn your culture from day one.
It also fits where the growth is coming from. A lot of UAE businesses are expanding, setting up new entities and building teams from the base up. And with pressure on margins and costs, entry-level hiring makes a lot of sense right now.
The junior role itself is changing too, with HR teams busy redefining what it looks like alongside AI. More on that soon.
Second part of the interview below.
Full Q4 2026 MEOS report at the link in our bio.