ISLAMABAD: The export of Pakistani labour to Malaysia increased by 32 percent in 2018 as some 9,881 workers proceeded there for prospective job opportunities as compared to 7,174 emigrants in 2017, Pakistan Economic Survey 2018-19 revealed on Monday.

Due to the efforts of present government for enhancing manpower export, an upward trend had also been observed in Qatar which was a positive sign, the official document read.

The survey highlighted that the manpower export to Saudi Arabia saw a drop of 42,453 in the last year as only 100,910 emigrants proceeded for employment there. Only143,363 workers moved to the gulf state in 2017, it added.

Similarly, manpower export to United Arab Emirates (UAE) also decreased in the previous year as only 208,635 workers went the Emirates for different assignments as compared to 2017 when some 275,436 chose the UAE as an employment destination.

The data showed that during 2018, the highest number of workers who went abroad was 185,902 from Punjab, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 88,361. From Northern areas the number of registered workers increased from 3417 in 2017 to 4185 in 2018.

Being the top labour exporting countries of the region, Pakistan has sent over 10.61 million of its workforce abroad for different job assignments of the International manpower markets during the years of 1971-2018, the survey pointed out.

Some 1.3 million unskilled workers and skilled each, 0.5 million semi skilled, 41,897 highly skilled and 80,775 highly qualified workers were registered for overseas employment by the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment during the period of 2014-18, the survey showed.

The gulfization policy in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, lack of skills at par with global standards and lack of awareness about foreign jobs were main reasons behind the declining trend of overseas employment, especially in GCC states.