UAE businesses get more orders in November – but slow down on new hiring

Dubai: UAE businesses can look forward to closing out 2024 on a high – if the November trends are anything to go by.

Last month saw new business orders rise at the fastest pace since August, according to the latest PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) reading from S&P Global. But new hiring was still on the slower side, according to the report.
“Employment growth slipped to a 31-month low, while input purchases rose at the slowest pace since July 2023,” said David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global.

Obviously, there is a strong co-relation between the higher costs that businesses are dealing with and their reluctance to take on more staff.

“Confidence in future business activity was relatively subdued – the secondlowest since early last year – and there were further mentions from panellists that markets are becoming crowded, curbing pricing power,” said Owen.
Indeed, while businesses pulled in more orders, many of them had to do so by cutting down on their prices. This coupled with the higher input costs did weigh on profit margins.