About four million people are working in the private sector in the UAE, half of which are construction workers, revealed the country's labour minister.

Speaking at the Dubai Economic Council (DEC) meeting, Saqr Saeed Gobash, minister of labour, said the number of individuals working in private sector had risen from 2.56 million in 2006 to 3.113 million. Now this figure has shot up to 4.079 million in 2008.

According to him, nationals comprise less than half-a-percent of the total number of workers in the private sector. The percentage of the nationals working in the private sector stood at 0.25 in 2006 and saw a slight increase in 2007 with 0.36 per cent.

However there was no visible change in their figures in 2008, the minister pointed out.

The DEC meeting was chaired by Juma Al Majid, head of the DEC. Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chief executive of Emirates Airlines and group, Khalid Bin Sulayem, DTCM director general and Abul Aziz Al Ghurair, speaker of Federal National Council took part.-TradeArabia News Service