Muscat – Oman’s private sector continued to strengthen its role as the country’s primary engine of employment for Omani nationals during the first half of 2026, accounting for virtually all net job creation as government hiring remained largely unchanged.

Latest data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed that the number of Omanis employed in the private sector rose 8.6% year-on-year to 441,737 till  the end of June 2026. Based on the annual growth rate, this represents an increase of approximately 35,000 jobs over the last one year.

By comparison, employment in the government sector increased 0.5% year-on-year to 392,962, adding about 2,000 jobs over the last one year.

Overall, the total number of employed Omani nationals across all sectors reached 896,370 at the end of June, up 3.7% from a year earlier. The figures indicate that nearly all of the net increase in Omani employment was generated by the private sector, highlighting its growing importance in absorbing new entrants to the labour market.

The latest data reinforces a structural shift in Oman’s employment landscape, where the private sector has become the dominant source of jobs for nationals. It now employs 48,775 more Omanis than the government sector, underlining the success of the sultanate’s ongoing efforts to diversify employment opportunities beyond the public sector.

The trend reflects the government’s continued push to strengthen private sector participation in employment through Omanisation policies, targeted training programmes, wage support initiatives and sector-specific localisation plans under Vision 2040.

Broad-based jobs growth

Employment gains were recorded across several occupational categories, pointing to expanding opportunities in both skilled and service-oriented professions.

Sales occupations recorded the strongest annual growth, with the number of Omani sales workers surging 34.7% to 23,378, reflecting rising demand across retail, wholesale and commercial activities.

Employment in the scientific, technical and human sciences technicians category increased 6.4% to 97,968, while service occupations grew 6.8% to 93,796. Clerical occupations, the largest employment category for Omanis, expanded 6% to 228,111, and the number of scientific, technical and human sciences specialists rose 3% to 146,720.

Some traditional sectors, however, continued to record declines. Omani employment in agriculture, livestock, hunting and fishing fell 3%, while industrial, chemical and food industries occupations declined 1.8%.

Muscat remained the largest employment centre for Omani nationals with 204,309 workers, followed by North Batinah with 170,452 and Dakhliyah with 112,466.

Muscat recorded one of the strongest growth rates, with Omani employment rising 5.7% year-on-year. North Batinah and South Batinah each posted growth of 4.2%, while Dakhliyah expanded 3.5% and Musandam recorded 2.4% growth.