ISLAMABAD: With 4.51 million unemployed population, the rate of unemployment in Pakistan stands at 6.3 percent, the Economic Survey 2023-24 released here on Tuesday revealed.
The survey said that according to the latest available Labour Force Surveys (LFS) 2020-21, the total labour force stands at 71.76 million (48.5 million rural and 23.2 million urban). The employed labour force stands at 67.25 million (45.7 million rural and 21.5 million urban).
It further said that the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) was conducting Labour Force Surveys (LFS) since 1963; however, LFS for 2022-23 could not be undertaken due to the engagement of PBS with the 7th Population and Housing Census. However, work on LFS 2024-25 is under process.
The employment structure in Pakistan has changed over the decades.
Due to technological transformation, the share of employment in the agriculture sector (37.4 percent) has shifted to industry and the services sector. The services sector is the largest growing sector of the economy, and the share of employment in the services sector was 37.2 percent in 2020-21.
The unemployment profile, categorised by age and gender, reveals that the youth (aged 15-24) have the highest unemployment rate of 11.1 percent, with 10.0 percent for males and 14.4 percent for females. The second highest unemployment rate is seen in the age group of 25-34 years, with a rate of 7.3 per cent. Among this group, 5.4 per cent of males and 13.3 per cent of females are unemployed. Notably, unemployment is more prevalent among females, especially those between 15 and 24 years of age. This situation forces the youth to wait for employment opportunities after entering the labour force, which restricts their learning opportunities and may lead to a rise in discouraged workers.
Pakistani workers play a crucial economic role by sending remittances to their home country. These remittances serve as a vital source of income for many households in Pakistan, contributing to poverty alleviation, improving living standards, and stimulating consumption.
More than 13.53 million Pakistanis have gone abroad through official procedures to work in over 50 countries until April 2024. About 96 per cent of Pakistani registered workers for overseas employment in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. They contribute to the development of Pakistan’s economy by sending remittances, the primary source of foreign exchange after exports.
During 2023, the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BE&OE) and Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) have registered 862,625 workers for overseas employment. An overall increasing trend (4 per cent) was observed in terms of emigrants registered in 2023 (862,625) as compared to 2022 (832,339).
In 2023, the highest number of workers who went abroad for employment was from Punjab (489,301) followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (210,150), Sindh (72,382), and tribal areas (36,609), Azad Jammu and Kashmir 33,904 and Gilgit-Baltistan 1,551.
According to the BE&OE, during 2023, more than 49.5 per cent (426,951) of Pakistani workers moved to Saudi Arabia for employment, followed by the UAE (26.7 per cent) to earn their livelihood. Oman employed 60,046 Pakistani workers (7.0 per cent), while Qatar offered jobs to 55,112 individuals (6.4 per cent). Bahrain and Malaysia hosted 13,345 workers (1.5 per cent) and 20,905 workers (2.4 per cent), respectively.
The highly skilled persons who proceeded abroad for employment increased from 20,865 in 2022 to 45,687 in 2023. Similarly, an increase of 26.6 per cent and 2.28 per cent was also observed in highly qualified and semi-skilled trades during 2023.
On the other hand, a rise of 8.7 per cent was witnessed in unskilled categories. However, number of skilled workers registered for overseas employment decreased from 347,733 in 2022 to 314,932 in 2023. Upskilling and workforce certification are the pressing needs of the time to meet international standards and demand. In this regard, the role of NAVTTC and TEVTA is crucial to producing a skilled and qualified force.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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