DUBAI, (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates’ non-oil, private sector grew at its fastest rate since June 2019, in October. It recorded an 11th consecutive month of growth, as Expo began in Dubai.

Seasonally adjusted, IHS Markit UAE’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), rose to 55.7 from 53.3 September. This was due to increased spending and tourism.

This was higher than the mark of 50.0 that distinguishes contraction from expansion. It also marked the first reading after the outbreak that had been above the series average (now at 54.1).

David Owen (economist at IHS Markit), said, “The Expo 2020 finally started in the UAE at October” and that it brought with it a very welcome boost in growth across non-oil sector.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Expo was postponed for one year.

In October, the output subindex rose to 61.1 from 57.1 in Sept. While new orders rose significantly compared to September.

“The gains in new and output were the sharpest since July 2019, and they are also some of our most notable.” Owen said. Owen stated that sales increased and more businesses predicted a rise of activity in the coming 12 months. This was because optimism rose to its highest point since the outbreak.

The rising number of new orders put pressure on business capacity, which led to the fourth consecutive month with growing backlogs. However, this was slightly less than September.

The employment sub-index saw a slight increase, but it was only slightly higher than September. It remained below the series average.

“This will determine whether or not the UAE can sustain its initial demand increase from Expo over the following months. This is the key test for their economy. Owen stated that we also await to see if this will boost employment growth. Owen’s latest data revealed a slow rate of hiring, despite increasing pressure on business capacities.