Dubai World is a "Government Owned Commercial Entity". It is a Holding Company and owns many key entities such as JAFZA, Dubai Ports etc. Yes, real estate is the problem but what else is here in Dubai other than real estate and tourism? Dubai is not an industrial or oil rich state.
When a Government Owned entity can not meet its debt obligation and is requesting for restructuring, it definitely means things are much more complicated than we had thought earlier.
What about the banks who lost "Billions" here. HSBC, Standard Chartered, NBAD and NBF are major losers. Would they not cut their cost by layoffs and other methods? What about contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and ultimately labors? They are all a "GONE CASE" I think.
I personally know that in Banking, Real Estate, Shipping and Contracting, hiring is "On Hold". Even if there is a vacancy, they are trying to fill it internally. New hiring has not been done since months... I do not know from where ministry got these figures. When layoff's started Dubai police chief said that they have not found any cars being left behind at Dubai airport when "A couple of My friends" left their cars at dxb airport. This is exactly the same type of statement