The GCC’s job market will grow at an average rate of nine percent in 2018, according to new research conducted by online recruitment portal GulfTalent.

According to the data, the most significant factor driving employment growth in the region is the rise of oil prices and a subsequent upturn in business

The results come from a survey of over 1,100 CEOs and executive managers across the GCC.

Of the GCC member states, Kuwait was found to have one of the most rapid rates of job creation, with 18 percent of firms reporting increased headcount. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country – the most oil and gas dependent in the GCC – will have the region’s fastest economic growth in 2018.

In the UAE, 13 percent of firms reported an increase in personnel numbers, largely driven by a recovering oil sector in Abu Dhabi and growth in Dubai’s non-oil economy, which itself has been encouraged by significant infrastructure spending for Expo 2020.

Notably, the region’s resurgent oil and gas sector is witnessing the region’s fastest headcount growth, with a net 39 percent of firms expanding their workforce.

Other sectors that were found to be growing were healthcare and banking, which the report noted is witnessing healthy grow as the “improving macroeconomic environment translates to increased demand for credit and higher lending appetites for financial institutions.”

Additionally, the survey found that employment in the GCC continues to be dominated by men, with firms hiring, on average, one woman for every three men employed. Healthcare and education were the only sectors in which a majority of positions were filled by women.