The United Arab Emirates' non-oil private sector limped through June, posting its weakest expansion in more than five years as businesses cut jobs at the sharpest rate since the pandemic era, a survey showed on Friday.
Regional conflict, cautious clients and intensifying competition weighed heavily on activity, even as resilient domestic spending and government investment cushioned the blow.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 50.8 in June from 52.6 in May, marking the softest improvement in operating conditions since February 2021 and leaving the headline gauge only fractionally above the 50.0 no-change mark.
Output growth eased to its weakest since June 2021, while new business, though picking up to a three-month high, remained well below trend.
Export orders shrank for a third consecutive month, the longest losing streak since 2016.
Most strikingly, firms cut headcount for the first time in over four years, with the pace of job shedding the quickest since August 2020.
David Owen, Principal Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the "robust nature of the drop in employment underscores the hit to firms from the double whammy of soft client demand and rising cost burdens."
He said that with client caution persisting and staff capacity already trimmed, any rebound in the non-oil sector is likely to be gradual.