The number of unemployed people has risen by 2.4 lakh in the first three months of this year, a Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics survey revealed on Monday.
The BBS survey titled ‘Quarterly Labour Force Survey 2024 Bangladesh’ released on the day, found the number of unemployed people currently at 25.90 lakh, up from 23.50 lakh in the past quarter between October and December.
Economists blame low investment in the private sector for growing unemployment.
Former Bangladesh Bank governor Salehuddin Ahmed observed that the number of unemployed people had increased due to slow business activities as many businesspeople were not getting access to adequate loan facilities.
As per the International Labour Organisation, people who did not work at least one hour in the past seven days despite having willingness and who were looking for paid work for the past 30 days will be considered unemployed.
‘The way BBS counts unemployment in the country is not proper,’ Salehuddin told New Age.
‘One hour of work in a week will not meet anyone’s demand. The actual number is higher than the reported ones,’ he said.
According to the former BB governor, the number of educated-unemployed people has increased significantly.
The country’s unemployment rate stood at 3.51 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, while the annual unemployment rate was 3.36 per cent in 2023.
Policy Research Institute executive director Ahsan H Mansur found the 3.51 per cent unemployment rate in a country like Bangladesh was ‘unrealistic.’
‘I think that the actual unemployment rate is now 20–25 per cent. The country had cut its growth, and even the country’s most thriving business sector, the ready-made garment industry, could not increase employment,’ said Mansur.
He said that investment in the construction sector was also dwindling due to the high price of raw materials.
‘Businessmen in the construction sector think that people will not buy flats at high prices. As a result, they stopped new investments,’ he said, adding that the fall in exports and imports also created a negative impact on private sector investment.
The number of male unemployed people rose to 17.40 lakh in the January–March period from 17.10 lakh during the corresponding period in 2023.
The number of unemployed females, however, declined from 8.80 lakh in the 2023 first quarter to 8.50 lakh in the 2024 first quarter, keeping the overall number of unemployed people the same.
Former Bangladesh Bank chief economist Mustafa K Mujeri said that the rising number of male unemployment cases was alarming and a negative indicator for the economy.
It may lead many families to poverty, he said.
He, however, claimed that nowadays women have more engagement in the informal sector compared with men.
‘The country’s growth has come down due to a lack of private sector investment. If private sector investment continues to slow down, employment will not be generated,’ he said.
He said that the economy of the country is at a standstill now.
The BBS survey showed that the country’s total workforce stood at 7.37 crore in the first quarter of this year, while it was 7.36 crore in 2023.
