UAE will need 1 Million more Workers by 2030 Despite the Rise of Agentic AI

A new report from ServiceNow suggests that the UAE will need to add around 1.03 million workers by 2030 to keep pace with its accelerating digital transformation. The finding cuts against a growing global fear that artificial intelligence will shrink workforces. In the UAE’s case, the opposite is happening.

According to the report, the rise of Agentic AI systems, tools that can autonomously execute tasks across workflows, will not replace human roles at scale. Instead, these systems are expected to reshape how work is done, increasing demand for people who can design, manage, govern and collaborate with AI-driven processes.

One of the clearest examples is financial services. Despite major efficiency gains from automation and AI-led decision systems, the sector is projected to see a 26% increase in headcount. Banks, insurers and fintech firms will still need more people, not fewer, as digital complexity increases, regulatory requirements tighten and customer expectations rise.

The report highlights a critical point often missed in AI debates. When organisations digitise faster, they do not just automate existing jobs. They also create entirely new layers of work. These include AI operations, risk and compliance oversight, data governance, customer experience design, cybersecurity and human-in-the-loop decision roles.

Why this matters

First, it reframes the AI narrative for the UAE. Instead of a zero-sum trade-off between technology and employment, the country is heading towards a high-growth, high-complexity labour market. AI becomes a force multiplier for productivity, not a substitute for people.

Second, it reinforces the UAE’s positioning as a digital economy hub, not just a consumer of technology but a builder of AI-enabled institutions. A workforce expansion of this scale signals sustained investment in cloud platforms, enterprise software, data infrastructure and AI governance frameworks across both public and private sectors.

Third, the findings have major implications for skills policy and education. The challenge is no longer job loss, but job readiness. Demand will rise for hybrid profiles that combine domain expertise with digital fluency, particularly in finance, government services, logistics and healthcare.

Finally, for businesses operating in or entering the UAE, the message is clear. Growth will depend less on cutting headcount and more on redesigning work, reskilling teams and building operating models where humans and autonomous systems work together.

In short, the UAE’s AI future is not about fewer workers doing more. It is about more workers doing different, higher-value work, with Agentic AI acting as the engine rather than the replacement.