Despite reports from various analysts that there could be a mass exodus in the GCC region, majority of the expats remain hopeful that their long-term career prospects will remain unaffected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis.
In the report released by global staffing company Robert Half, various GCC residents believe that they can still attain their career plans in the future even amid the crisis.
Earlier, analysis from Oxford Economics stated that as lockdown eases, the region could see a mass exodus of expats as they suffer from redundancies and pay cuts as a result of the crisis. Their report stated that 1.7 million expats could leave Saudi Arabia — about 10 percent of its entire population — by the end of the year due to job losses. Meanwhile the crisis could see the population of Oman drop by 4 percent as foreign workers say goodbye to the country.
Other experts also noted that a total of about 4 to 4.5 million could leave the region due to the effects of the pandemic.
In the report, chief economist Scott Livermore said that such occurence could have long-term impact on the affected countries in the region.
“The dependence of the GCC on expat workers and large swathes of job losses as the lockdowns bite in key sectors may result in significant falls in population, which could have longer-lasting implications,” he said.
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However, in a survey conducted by The Filipino Times, 65 percent of Filipinos in the UAE are optimistic that things will go back to normal within six months, with many of them believing that the country’s economy will mount a fast and successful comeback compared to other nations, and that it will overcome the repercussions of COVID 19.
The survey, which was participated in by 1,982 respondents, also showed that 91 percent of Filipinos in the UAE feel safe and assured with the initiatives of the UAE government against COVID-19, and that the measures taken by the UAE government are effective.
This increasing confidence is also the reason Filipinos have boosted their non-essential purchases as things start to go back to normal. For the past two months, consumer spending was limited to essential items.
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