UAE fertility and female labor force participation :: Khaleej Times

1. Labor force participation rate of UAE women: from "5.4 per cent in 1995 to 16 per cent in 2004."

2. Explanations: "the positive development was due to substantial enrolment by women in education, particularly higher education, relaxed social restrictions on female employment and the fact that work was increasingly being seen not merely as a source of income, but establishing personal identity."

3. Fertility: "The negative impact of the welcome development was, however, that it had hit the demographic structure. "The most significant characteristic of the UAE population is the sharp and constant decline in the gross fertility rate, particularly among national females in the 15-24 age group. This decline is attributed to late marriage, increased participation of women in the labour market and accomplishments in higher education." "

4. Employment and unemployment among female nationals: "Although the participation rate of economically active female nationals went up by 11 per cent between 1995 and 2004, their share of the total labour force was less than 27 per cent. This underscores the importance of current efforts to target women for jobs. As it is, the unemployment rate among national women is at a high of 19.7 per cent or 14,000 job seekers compared to 8.2 per cent for males, despite the fact that women graduates greatly outnumber male graduates."

5. "UAE nationals' share of the total labour force also increased marginally from 9.1 per cent in 1995 to 9.3 per cent in 2004."

6. Total population and population growth: "The estimated total UAE population in 2004 was around 4.3 million, of whom majority were expatriates. The UAE has one of the highest population growth rates in the world, estimated at 5.6 per cent."

7. Productivity: "The labour productivity decline was at an annual rate of two per cent between 1993 and 2004."