Although the government fell due to the student-led movement for employment, no change has come to the job market. Within a year, the unemployment situation has worsened. The job market is now in crisis. Compared to 2023, the number of unemployed people increased by 150,000 in 2024. Graduates and postgraduates are struggling even to secure jobs that pay Tk 20,000 per month.
According to the quarterly Labour Force Survey (October–December 2024) by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the number of unemployed at the end of 2024 stood at 2.7 million. In 2023, that figure was 2.55 million. Last year, the unemployment rate was 3.65 percent. By December 2024, the country’s labor force was 58.9 million, of which 47.49 million were men and 11.44 million were women.
Over the past decade, the number of factory workers has steadily declined. According to BBS data, in 2013 the number of workers in the industrial sector was 12.1 million, but in 2024 it fell to 12.0 million. With the decline in industrial jobs, overall employment has also decreased. Overseas employment plays a major role in reducing unemployment in the country, but in 2024, that rate fell by 22 percent, dropping to 1 million. According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), more than 400,000 people went abroad for work until May last year.
Kanjul Karam Kaushik, a student of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism at Dhaka University told to Bangladesh Pratidin: “When university students sit together to chat, there’s one question that almost everyone gets stuck on: after finishing your studies, which sector do you want to build your career in? Some say they’ll do IELTS and go abroad, others say that despite uncertainty they’ll still try for government jobs, while many say they’ll just take any job they can find. This is common among most students. The reasons are students’ indifference toward career planning at an early stage and the state’s unplanned education system.”
Dr. Muhammad Sahadat Hossain Siddiqui, Professor of Economics at Dhaka University, said: “Due to policy mismanagement in the country, higher education institutions have not developed according to demand. The educational infrastructure does not provide students with the skills they actually need. This is why weaknesses appear when it comes to going abroad or pursuing self-employment.”
He further said:“Every year about 2.5 million young people graduate and enter the job market. Of them, 1 million go abroad. The government struggles to create employment opportunities for the remaining 1.5 million. Due to capital flight, weaknesses in financial institutions, and declining private sector investment, job opportunities are not being created. Rising unemployment is leading young people to despair.”
Fahin Hossain, a student of Economics at Rajshahi University, said: “The government has failed to control the market. Commodity prices are rising continuously. With the salary structure of the 11th to 20th grades in government jobs, it is now very difficult to manage living expenses. Under this dual pressure, the country’s talented youth are divided and uncertain.”
Professor Nurul Momen, Director of the Career Counseling and Development Center at Rajshahi University, said: “The job market in the country is frustrating. Every year many graduates enter the workforce, but job opportunities are very limited in comparison. Even more frustrating is that after much struggle, when these graduates finally get a job, in most cases it comes with very low pay, making it challenging to live a modestly comfortable life. Employees are still receiving salaries under a pay scale structure from nearly 10 years ago, whereas the standard of living has changed significantly in this time.”
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
