Dubai’s job market attracts Americans

This worker went to California at the tail end of the dot-com boom, but then late last year he lost his job. He then went to Dubai because he thought it offered more opportunity than any other city. He and some friends share a house not far from here where they have a maid and a cook and he pays no income taxes. These are just a few of the perks that have drawn 20,000 Americans here. Responses to job openings have gone up 50% especially in the financial sector and that’s put a lot of supply on the market that was begging for talent even just a few months ago. This general manager for a financial consulting term is telling clients it’s a good time to pick up talent on the cheap because of the many lost jobs in the U.S. This headhunter says the day Lehman Bros. failed she hit the phones and immediately connected several Lehman Bros. employees with jobs here. She says the amount of inquiries for jobs here has gone way up in recent weeks. Dubai has fared better than most cities in recent months, but there have been many hiring freezes here and a few firms have even laid off employees.