The State of Hiring & Recruitment in Oman 2026

HEADLINE FIGURES

2,670,614

Total Workforce
(Jul 2025)

51,482

Jobs Created
in 2025

114%

of Annual Employment
Target Achieved

3.6%

Unemployment Rate
(Jan 2025)

OMR 325

Minimum Monthly
Wage (Omanis)

WORKFORCE COMPOSITION — JULY 2025

OMANIS 32.35% · 863,932

EXPATRIATES 67.65% · 1,806,682

411,257

Omanis in Private Sector

388,448

Omanis in Government

1,406,059

Expats in Private Sector

OMANISATION TARGETS BY SECTOR (2025–2026)

Govt / Public Sector

85%

Banking & Finance

60%

Healthcare

35%

Oil & Gas

32%

IT & Digital

25%

Transport & Logistics

21%

Tourism & Hospitality

18%

Construction

8%

⚑ Vision 2040 overall Omanisation target: 42% by 2025 (largely achieved) → 50%+ by 2030

TOP EXPATRIATE NATIONALITIES (2025)

656,789

🇧🇩 Bangladeshis

505,824

🇮🇳 Indians

303,777

🇵🇰 Pakistanis

44,891

🇵🇭 Filipinos

25,260

🇱🇰 Sri Lankans

These 3 nationalities alone (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan) represent over 80% of the expatriate labour force in Oman.

KEY HIRING & LABOUR MARKET STATISTICS

55,000

Omanis graduate yearly entering workforce

45,000

2026 job target set by Ministry of Labour

300,000

New jobs planned 2026–2030 (11th Plan)

~11%

Youth unemployment under age 25 (2024)

40,000

Private sector jobs/yr for Omanis (Vision 2040 target)

OMR 850

Average gross monthly salary (2026 est.)

3% min/yr

Mandatory salary increment for Omani employees

86%

Private sector jobs held by expatriates (IMF data)

4.0%

Job-seekers rate, May 2025 (NCSI)

50%+

Omanisation target by 2030 (Vision 2040)

AVERAGE MONTHLY SALARY BY SECTOR (OMR, 2025)

2,800

Oil &
Gas

3,000

Finance

2,200

IT/
Tech

1,800

Health-
care

1,600

Engi-
neering

1,100

Tourism

800

Retail

850

All Sec-
tors Avg

OMAN'S 11TH FIVE-YEAR PLAN (2026–2030) — KEY EMPLOYMENT TARGETS

OMR 15.6B

Total Investment Required

300,000 Jobs

5-Year Job Target

60,000/Year

Annual Creation Rate

10,000/Year

Government Sector

50,000/Year

Private Sector

4% GDP

Projected 2026 Growth

TOP IN-DEMAND JOB CATEGORIES (2025–2026)

💻 IT & Cybersecurity

⚙️ Engineering & Construction

🏥 Healthcare & Medical

💰 Finance & Banking

🏨 Hospitality & Tourism

📊 Data Analytics & AI

🌿 Renewable Energy

🚚 Transport & Logistics

OMANISATION ENFORCEMENT SNAPSHOT

245,000+

Businesses with ZERO Omani employees

1.1M Expats

Working in zero-Omani businesses

14%

Omani share in ~500K private businesses

OMR 500–1K

Fine per missed Omanisation hire

May 2026

Comply or lose government contract bids

1,300+ Firms

Benefiting from government wage subsidy

LABOUR MARKET OUTLOOK — 2026 & BEYOND

Digital Economy → 10% of GDP by 2040 (from 2%)

60,000 new jobs/yr targeted 2026–2030 (11th Plan)

$14 Billion Renewable Energy investments signed

FDI rose +20.6% in Q1 2025 (World Bank)

Non-oil GDP +3.1% in 2025 (World Bank est.)

Moody's upgraded Oman to Baa3 (Investment Grade)