Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Executive Director Fahmida Khatun remarked on Saturday that among the unemployed youth in the country, those who have spent more time in formal education are currently facing the highest unemployment rates.
“These educated youths are experiencing longer periods of joblessness as they spend more time searching for employment that aligns with their academic qualifications,” she said while presenting the keynote speech in a webinar titled “Youth Unemployment in Bangladesh,” organised by the Forum for Bangladesh Studies. Journalist Monir Haider moderated the webinar.
Fahmida Khatun said, “Unemployment has a strange correlation with education and it is not encouraging. We observe that as the level of education increases, educated youths in our country are struggling to find jobs.”
She further said, "Unemployment is high among educated youth, particularly those who have spent 11 years or more in formal education. Among women who have spent more than nine years in formal education, the unemployment rate is also significant.
"Conversely, unemployment is very low among those who have spent less than seven years in formal education. They tend to enter some form of employment more quickly."
Citing data from the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Fahmida Khatun noted that the national unemployment rate is 3.6 per cent, with youth unemployment accounting for about 80 per cent of this figure.
Additionally, the rate of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET) stands at 30 per cent, which the economist described as "terrible".
Criticising the current method of determining unemployment rates, Fahmida Khatun explained that according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) principles, individuals working less than one hour a week are considered employed.
"As a result, BIDS reports an unemployment rate below 4 per cent. However, this does not accurately reflect the real unemployment situation in our country, as it is uncommon for people to hire someone for just an hour," she clarified.
"The economic recession has shaken our country's overall stability. Despite this, we continue to experience growth. However, private sector investment remains low at about 23.5 per cent of GDP. Over the past decade, while GDP has grown, employment has not increased proportionately. Additionally, employment in the agriculture sector is gradually decreasing," she added.
She further pointed out that 90 per cent of total employment in the industrial sector and about 68 per cent in the service sector are informal. "Decent employment is not possible with this kind of informal recruitment process," she remarked.
AKM Fahim Mashroor, CEO of bdjobs.com and a panel discussant in the webinar, stated that youth unemployment has significantly worsened in Bangladesh, and with the economy declining, unemployment rates are expected to increase further.
"Our job market has been stagnant since the onset of Covid-19. Despite transitioning from a less developed country to a developing one, there has been no improvement," he noted.
He also highlighted a significant skills gap among students. "Many college and university students aspire to work in multinational organisations after graduation, but they lack the essential language and communication skills," he pointed out.
