The overall unemployment rate in the country which stood at 8.3 percent in 2001-02 came down to 6.2 per cent in 2005-06, with 4.95 million people getting jobs during the last two years due to impressive economic growth, the Federal Bureau of Statistics said Sunday.
The picture has emerged from quarterly surveys of labour force which the Bureau has been conducting to assess the structural changes in the labour market arising from high economic growth in all sectors of the economy.
The labour force survey is comprehensive, conforming to International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards and duly reviewed by ILO experts. According to the latest survey, unemployment in urban areas reduced from 9.8 per cent to 8 per cent and rural areas from 7.6 per cent to 5.4 per cent in the reference period.
Among males the 6.7 per cent unemployment in 2001-02 decreased to 5.4 percent in 2005-06, whereas among females the decline was more significant, down from 16.5 per cent to 9.3 per cent during the period.
The robust economic growth which is directly linked with employment generation created about 4.95 million job opportunities during the last two years, resulting in considerable decline in unemployment in the country in all the four provinces, the Bureau report said.
During the period 2001-02 to 2005-06, the unemployment in Balochistan has decreased from 7.8 per cent to 3.2 per cent, whereas in Sindh province it declined from 5.1 per cent to 4.4 per cent.
The unemployment in NWFP also showed a declining trend and it has reduced from 13.1 per cent to 11.8 per cent. Similarly in Punjab, it has come down from 8.5 per cent to 6 per cent during the reference period.
Youth unemployment of age group 15 to 24 among males has reduced from 12 per cent in 2001-02 to 8.4 per cent in 2005-06, whereas among females this has declined significantly from 20.5 per cent to 6.6 per cent in the same period.
The reduction in unemployment is due to government policies, growth in private investment, including foreign direct investment, and policies of liberalisation and privatisation and significant increase in public sector development budget.
Access to credit for the private sector through liberal monitory policy, non-restrictive regulatory regime and competitiveness have contributed to high growth in employment opportunities which "really put a dent on unemployment," the report said.