In August, businesses in the UAE saw new orders surge at the fastest rate since March, overcoming any slowdown typically experienced during the peak summer months.

This uptick in activity also compensated for a weak performance in July, which had been the slowest in three years.

However, despite the increase in new orders, businesses were not hiring at higher levels during August.

“Hiring growth across the (UAE) non-oil sector weakened in August and was the softest for seven months. While some firms added to their workforces to boost output, others made cuts to staffing levels,” said the new PMI report from S&P Global.

Some of the significant orders in August were from overseas clients, which helped to alleviate pressure on businesses’ operating capacity as “supply chains continued to recover and firms purchased more inputs,” Gulf News reports.

“(UAE) businesses remain confident that output growth will be sustained over the coming year, especially as sales pipelines remain strong and firms have ample levels of outstanding work to complete. Capacity constraints are also easing which should further aid business activity,” said David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The next few weeks will reveal whether the dip in job creation during August was primarily seasonal. There is speculation that the construction sector may start adding new jobs, while staffing levels in the hospitality industry are also expected to see significant gains as the year heads into its final three months.

In addition, the August PMI shows another “steep increase” in average input costs, with businesses noting increased expenditures on raw materials, transportation, IT equipment, and maintenance.

“Wage costs also increased at the fastest pace since May. However, a slowing of purchase price inflation meant that overall cost burdens were the softest in four months,” according to the S&P Global report.