stealth said "just a lot hogwash. with the amount of people streaming in for jobs, god knows where these reporters get their news from?

Agreed with stealth.

Also, this portion of the OP's comment, "... turning their backs on the Gulf in favour of richer pickings and better living conditions/treatment in the Far East"

- Sounds like an attempt to get employers in Qatar to raise salaries of expats. "Richer pickings" - not true, I know cos I'm back in the "Far East".
"better living conditions / treatment" - well ... true to a reasonable extent. Living and working in Qatar is actually a hardship placement but adaptable people do well over there.

"Al Arabiya is reporting that Qatar will need to recruit 1.5 million more foreign workers in order to get the country ready to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup... A massive influx of new workers will be needed for a number of huge building projects, including the construction of a network of new stadiums.
Qatar has also committed to building a new metro system in Doha and a national railway network ahead of 2022."

- This means that the projects have not really gotten off the ground yet, have they? Doesn't sound like it.