Real estate companies in Dubai may start hiring again when they re-launch some of the projects in fourth quarter or early next year, according to a recruiting consultancy.

"Companies in the region have been hiring. Roughly 25 per cent of the respondents to our salary survey for the year had been made redundant but have found jobs in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi," said Matthew Taylor, International Director, Macdonald & Company.

The slowdown in Dubai's real estate market saw a large number of companies such as Nakheel, Damac Properties, Emaar Properties and a score of mid-size developers making a number of their employees redundant.

Realty firms may restart hiring in Q4 or early 2010