Job vacancies in ME up 14% in February: Monster 

(MENAFN) A new study conducted by Monster Employment Index found that job vacancies in the Middle East rose by 14 percent in February, led by with Saudi Arabia, Arabian Business reported.

Monster Employment Index is a monthly gauge of level of jobs posted online in the Middle East.

Education was on top of sectors' job offerings in February, with 37 percent more growth year-on-year, followed by healthcare with 33 percent up, banking, financial services and insurance with 28 percent up, advertising, PR, media and entertainment with 26 percent up, and retail and trading with 17 percent up, according to Monster Employment Index.

By contrast, oil and gas showed the biggest drop in job openings, with a decline of 21 percent, followed by hospitality with 6 percent drop, while the consumer goods sector was relatively stable; with only one percent more jobs up.

Saudi Arabia led the region's most vacancy postings with a 47 percent increase, as the government sought to increase opportunities for those in the public sector. Egypt came second with 31 percent up, followed by Kuwait with 12 percent up.

Oman, on the other hand, saw the biggest decline in postings, with the number of jobs on offer down by 18 percent, followed by UAE with 13 percent drop, Qatar with 12 percent down and Bahrain with 6 percent drop.

The study also found that in Saudi Arabia hospitality professionals were apparently in demand, with an 82 percent rise in vacancies, while in the UAE education again scored highest with 19 percent more opportunities.