With foreign workers occupying the vast majority of jobs in the private sector in the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf's second largest economy wants to expand opportunities for its citizens, AFP reported.

The UAE, like other oil-rich Gulf Arab states, has often used the public sector as a means of employment for its citizens. But times are changing, said Khalifa al-Suwaidi, a 34-year-old Emirati researcher who himself is seeking private-sector jobs after leaving public employment in June.

According to the International Labor Organization, only 12 percent of the country's more than nine million residents are UAE nationals, with more than 90 percent of jobs in the private sector held by foreigners.

Suwaidi, author of a forthcoming book said he believes some employers ignored his statement because they assumed the Emirati would demand the high wages often paid in lucrative government jobs.

The private sector should be more accommodating, he said.

The government is now encouraging private firms to hire local talent so that by 2026, Emiratis will make up 10 percent of the private-sector workforce.

Next month, firms with more than 50 employees that fail to fill two percent of their skilled jobs in the Emirates will be fined. This has sparked a hiring race, and recruiters have noted an influx of vacancies from companies, many of which will fail to meet their targets.

It's part of a broader trend, said Eman Alhussein, a freelance researcher at the Arab Gulf Institute in Washington.

She said the UAE is joining a broader effort in the Gulf to change the dynamics of state-society relations and to remove citizens from public office.

The Gulf states want citizens to change their expectations, give back to the state and accept jobs with longer hours and perhaps less income, Eman Alhussein said.

The government also announced a wage support scheme that gives Emiratis in the private sector up to 7,000 UAE dirhams ($1,900) extra if their monthly salary is less than 30,000 UAE dirhams.

There is no national minimum wage for Emiratis, but in Sharjah, one of the country's seven emirates, they are entitled to a monthly minimum of 25,000 UAE dirhams.

According to the United Nations, the UAE, a major regional center for multinational companies, was among the top 10 richest countries in the world in 2020.

According to the International Monetary Fund, GDP per capita in 2022 was more than $47,000, higher than in Britain and France.

It has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the Middle East, but nationwide data on unemployment among Emirati residents is not available.

Unemployment in the UAE's financial center Dubai has risen from 2.5 percent in 2012 to 4.2 percent in 2019, according to the Dubai Statistical Center.