Dubai is a part, could lose 900,000 jobs -- eye-watering for a country of 9.6 million -- and see 10% of its residents uproot.
Newspapers are filled with reports of Indian, Pakistani and Afghan blue-collar workers leaving on repatriation flights, but it’s the loss of higher earners that will have painful knock-on effects on an emirate geared toward continuous growth.“An exodus of middle class residents could create a death spiral for the economy," said Ryan Bohl, a Middle East analyst at Stratfor. “Sectors that relied on those professionals and their families such as restaurants, luxury goods, schools and clinics will all suffer as people leave.