Unemployment Problem in Bangladesh

Unemployment Problem in Bangladesh

Outline:

Unemployment is a great concern in Bangladesh. Every year hundreds of thousands student are coming out from college and university. Though it is one of the major responsibilities of the Government to provide job to those young generation but the Government is failed to meet the job demand among the large population. Only a tiny fraction of total jobless is managed by different government offices and private organization but a majority remain unemployed.

Historically for a long time British administration was the main cause of this problem. After ending Mughol regime when British came in Sub continent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) they started to do business, they exploited the sub-continent. They did not establish any Industry which is helpful to remove the unemployment problem. Though some Industry was made but all of them were placed in Indian Territory. So Bangladesh region was neglected from the British period. After ending British rule in 1947 Pakistan adopted the same rule they established all kinds of Industry in West Pakistan not in East Pakistan. As a result of Pakistani monopoly rule we saw the freedom fighting war in 1971. After nine months continuous war it is divided and named East Pakistan as a Bangladesh.

After 1971 Bangladesh has been facing political crisis badly. As a result no government can take long term massive step to remove the unemployment problem. Within 37 years Bangladesh has experience about eight new governments and two assassination incident at the top level country leader. So now political crisis is one of the major causes of unemployment problem in Bangladesh. Among others two major parties BNP and Aowamileague are busy to gain only political power. None of these parties are trying to do anything to solve the country’s major problem UNEMPLOYEMENT PROBLEM

Many Asian developing countries are the bright example in the World who is successful to remove the unemployment problem successfully. Korea, Malaysia, Singapore are the newest of them. They are growing rapidly because there is no Political crisis. Government assured the foreign investor about political calm environment. So many American, European and Japanese company are investing in those regions spontaneously. As a result they are developing very fast. Bangladesh Government and political leader should learn from those Asian countries.

Recent attitude and activity of political parties are very hateful to the common people. By election if a party goes to power then another party cannot accept that, they do not go to parliament they do not express constructive opinion in the parliament which is helpful for common people. But they should not do it. May be there is some discrimination of the election result but there are overall acceptation of the common people. To think about greater welfare of the country they should keep patient, they should support the Government they should assist the Government to take the long term strategy to remove the unemployment problem.

If we watch towards Japan, Korea, Malaysia what we will see? Due to Industrialization they have changed a lot. Without Industrialization no nation can expect strong economic basement and solution of unemployment problem. After political settlement the first and foremost thing for Bangladesh is, to build up industry to remove the unemployment problem. If they can assure the political calm and stable situation, then foreigner will come to invest in manufacturing sector to build new industry. In this respect Transportation, Road and Highway, Electricity should be reconstructed strongly otherwise everything will be failed.

Particularly Automobile and Electronics Industry are the major items to intensify a country’s overall financial condition. Most of money is spent in these two sectors. Lot of population can be employed in these industries. Because by surrounding an automobile or electronics industry hundreds of supporting small industry will be built up. As a result a lot of people will be employed. In this respect Government should adopt a strong and strict policy about importing used car. After establishing automobile industry they should ban import of all used car. Used car import is destroying the environment and employment opportunity.

To intensify the overall industrialization our Ambassadors who are employed in different countries specially Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore can help the Government to adopt strong, effective, active and successful policy. Because they are well known with those countries environment, government and people. They have practical and expert feeling about the development policy in different sector of the respective country.

We have already wasted a lot of time. We don’t want to live as the poorest and neglected nation in the world. We want our economic growth, our honor. We have a lot of workforce and a lot of money in the Bank. But due to proper utilization and proper development planning we are staying in back. In this regard Political leader, Intellectual, Industrialist, Planner, Ambassador, Teacher Student and migrated generation in abroad should contribute to achieve the country’s economic progress. If we can take proper steps to obtain our economic growth, then we can remove our unemployment problem.

God says if you want to love me try to love people first. If you believe in God you have to love people. Ask yourself according your ability and responsibility how much has you done to help the people to help the country? 80% People are living in rural area. After a long struggle a village parents educate his children helped them to grown up. They help them to gain college or university degree. Rest duty is yours. That is Government. Yes It is Governments duty to provide job, to create job for our young generation. It is fundamental duty of a Government to solve the problem of Unemployment.

Objective:

The rise of unemployment, as has been reported to be case in Bangladesh under a recent study that was prepared by the Planning Commission for finding out the progress made by the country under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) programme of the United Nations, is a worrisome development. The rate of unemployment in Bangladesh, according to the study, has now risen to some 11 per cent from what was 8.0 per cent in 2002 and 2.4 per cent in 1990. This is only official data. The unofficial but reliable estimates of unemployment are higher. Employment creation needs to be a very important objective in every economy for the simple reasons that unemployed persons pose a burden at every level in society. First of all, they are burdens for their families. Unemployed young ones eligible to work and not finding work are a source of agony for their families. Family resources are drained on the maintenance of unemployed young persons.

In the overall economic sense, unemployed people are liabilities for the economy because they do not produce but only consume. People who do jobs usually produce something or discharge a service and obtain an income in return for their economic activities. Thus, employed individuals both give something to the economy and take from it whereas the unemployed ones only take from the economy but do not provide anything to it. They are like parasites living off the wealth and income that others produce. Thus, both unemployment and its milder form, underemployment, meaning less than optimum engagement in work, are highly undesirable for the economy and society. Employment means incomes and it is in no way possible to alleviate poverty without creating income-earning opportunities or jobs for those who remain unemployed.

It is, therefore, extremely important to put the greatest emphasis on maximizing employment opportunities through meaningful operationalization of the strategy for poverty alleviation and sustainable development. For this, the government must pursue practical policies to give a stimulus to much greater investments in the economy so that more jobs can be created on a regular basis. The domestic economy may not expand, in the short run, sufficiently and proportionately to provide jobs to the rising number of unemployed people. It, thus, serves the country's purpose if efforts are made at the same time to send people abroad with jobs. In the latter case, the benefits can be multiple. The pressure of the unemployed ones for jobs eases, foreign currencies are remitted in support of the foreign currency reserve and the country is also spared the parasitic existence of people without jobs.

Considering all these factors, the government should pursue more energetic policies to help create a synergy so that more investments take place within the economy, on one side, and more people can also be sent abroad with gainful jobs, on the other. Providing training at publicly-run training centers to impart effective training to young persons for jobs which have good demand abroad can be quite useful here, because the returns in remittances from skilled labour are substantially higher than unskilled ones. For speeding up employment locally, actions like making available training, advisory service, capital support and assistance to the country's huge unemployed youth at the grassroots level should merit a serious attention, in addition to other supportive public policies in areas of infrastructure facilities, investment-friendly regulatory reforms etc. Training and assistance, are, of course, vital for expanding the scope for self-employment opportunities, particularly for the youth. Such opportunities in greater number can be opened up particularly in the dairies and livestock sector, poultry breeding, growing of novel agricultural products for export, etc. The policy objective should be pro-active here particularly for encouraging the labour intensive sectors to maximize employment.

The Nature:

Unemployment means the state of being without any work both for the educated and uneducated for earning one's livelihood. Unemployment problem has become a great concern all over the world. But nowhere in the world, is this problem as acute as in Bangladesh. Thousands of people in our country are without any job. Cause of unemployment: Bangladesh, like other developing countries, suffers from large-scale disguised unemployment in the sense that, even with unchanged techniques of agriculture a large part of the population engaged in agriculture could be removed without reducing agricultural output. Beyond agriculture, disguised unemployment also exists in large industries, offices and organizations, particularly in the public sector. Unemployment among the educated youths is one of the major problems in Bangladesh. The unemployment rate for the population having secondary school certificate level education and above is significantly higher than those with a lower level of education. The unemployment rate for educated women is higher compared to that for the male population. In Bangladesh salaried/wage employment in the formal sectors is not big enough to take care of the huge number of unemployed. Employment promotion, especially, creation of opportunities, continues as the most important functions of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training. The Fifth Five-Year Plan for 1997-2002 had set a target of creating additional employment of 6.35 million persons. Of this, a total of 160,000 persons are expected to be engaged in Emphasis had been given on training and credit support to women micro entrepreneurs in cottage industries and other traditional and non-traditional sectors including skill development for service industries and other non-farm activities. The private sector and NGOs are also playing a vital role to this end Effect of unemployment problem: The effects of rural-urban migration in Bangladesh are analyzed to identify a relationship between migration and underdevelopment. Poverty, unemployment and natural hazards appear to be the main reasons for the rural exodus. The preference for moving to a large city is found to be determined by the urban bias in planning both by national and international authorities, and by the public amenities and resources available in the urban areas. An analysis of the levels and trends in urbanization reveals the notable role of rural-urban migration in the rapid growth of the urban population. Most migrants are young, unmarried males of working age. A case study of migrants in Dhaka City illustrates the reasons for and consequences of migration. It is concluded that rural-urban migration is mainly a survival strategy of the rural poor.

Impact:

According to a study of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the rate of growth of unemployment in Bangladesh was 1.9 per cent in the decade of the nineties. But the growth in unemployment currently is 3.7 per cent. The ILO figures also show Bangladesh in the twelfth position among the top twenty countries in the world where unemployment is rising.

The number of the unemployed in Bangladesh now is estimated at 30 million. The way the rate of unemployment is increasing, it is feared that at this rate unemployment would soar to some 60 million by 2015. According to another estimate, every year some 2.7 million young persons are becoming eligible for jobs whereas only about 0.7 million of them are getting employment. The number of the 'disguised unemployed' an economic term meaning underemployed people or employed to a degree less than their potential, is some 32 per cent .

The huge number of the unemployed and the underemployed in the workforce gives an idea of the number of the parasitic ones in the population. Employed persons not only consume from the economy but they also contribute to the economy through production activities and discharge of various services. The unemployed people in contrast only live off the economy or their families and society. They are an absolute burden on the state. Not only being liabilities in the economic sense, politically and socially they are considered to be a source of tension and turmoil. The linkage between unemployment and crimes is obvious. Therefore, all governments in Bangladesh will need to address the unemployment issue very seriously indeed before it turns worse. The recent floods and the devastating Sidr storm plus the restructuring activities leading to retrenchment of workers from state operated enterprises, have added to the unemployment problem. Government will have to start up urgently different work programmes like road building and repairs, reconstruction of infrastructures, etc., specially in the rural areas and continue them for some time, to mitigate the worst woes of the jobless ones at the grass roots level.

But for the medium and longer terms, the present interim government which is doing path breaking works in vital areas, should also adopt a plan of action to tackle unemployment. It can start such a plan and leave gradual implementation of it to successor governments. Insufficient investments have been frustrating the creation of new employment opportunities in Bangladesh. Government here needs to identify each of the factors that can contribute to a better investment climate. The same would include improvement of law and order, much lowering of the interest rate on borrowings, addition to and upgradation of infrastructures to be supportive of enterprising, fiscal policies that create level playing fields for local entrepreneurs in relation to foreign competitors, fiscal incentives such as tax reduction and tax exemption, etc.

Government will need to act imaginatively and effectively in relation to each of the above factors and more to improve the investment climate that in turn would accelerate economic activities and make the desired impact on the unemployment situation. However, there is also a need to be clear about the policies to be pursued to create employment. New enterprises will absorb the unemployed. But capital intensive enterprises will employ a smaller number than labour intensive ones which will understandably employ a greater number. Thus, enterprise with labour intensive character should be identified and encouraged.

Government can make a big contribution towards reducing unemployment by also building and operating a large number of training institutions to train the jobless ones in different vocations for them to be fit enough to take up employment in the country, to go abroad for doing jobs or to engage in self-employment. Government's ample spending for skill development is all the more necessary because private sectors may prefer not to invest in this area out of a consideration of low profits. The high costs of skill training under the private sector is also likely to exclude most seekers of such training on the ground of their inability to pay for the training. Thus, government's role as a skill trainer is very important. But government can expect to recover the investments it will make in this area by receiving regular payments in instalments from people who would get jobs after such training.

Causes:

Bangladesh, like other developing countries, suffers from large-scale disguised unemployment in the sense that, even with unchanged techniques of agriculture a large part of the population engaged in agriculture could be removed without reducing agricultural output. Beyond agriculture, disguised unemployment is also existing in large industries, offices and organizations, particularly in the public sector. Unemployment among the educated youths is one of the major problems in Bangladesh. The unemployment rate for the population having secondary school certificate level education and above is significantly higher than those with a lower level of education. The unemployment rate for educated women is higher compared to that for the male population. In Bangladesh salaried/wage employment in the formal sectors is not big enough to take care of the huge number of unemployed. Employment promotion, especially, creation of \ opportunities, continues as the most important functions of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training. The Fifth Five-Year Plan for 1997-2002 had set a target of creating additional employment of tk 6.35 million persons. Of this, a total of 1,60,000 persons are expected to be engaged in. Emphasis had been given on training and credit support to women micro entrepreneurs in cottage industries and other traditional and non-traditional sectors including skill development for service industries and other non-farm activities. The private sector and NGOs are also playing a vital role to this end

Effect of unemployment problem:

The effects of rural-urban migration in Bangladesh are analyzed to identify a relationship between migration and underdevelopment. Poverty, unemployment and natural hazards appear to be the main reasons for the rural exodus. The preference for moving to a large city is found to be determined by the urban bias in planning both by national and international authorities, and by the public amenities and resources available in the urban areas. An analysis of the levels and trends in urbanization reveals the notable role of rural-urban migration in the rapid growth of the urban population. Most migrants are young, unmarried males of working age. A case study of migrants in Dhaka City illustrates the reasons for and consequences of migration. It is concluded that rural-urban migration is mainly a survival strategy of the rural poor.
What is the current situation of unemployment problem in Bangladesh:
According to a study of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the rate of growth of unemployment in Bangladesh was 1.9 per cent in the decade of the nineties. But the growth in unemployment currently is 3.7 per cent. The ILO figures also show Bangladesh in the twelfth position among the top twenty countries in the world where unemployment is rising. The number of the unemployed in Bangladesh now is estimated at 30 million. The way the rate of unemployment is increasing, it is feared that at this rate unemployment would soar to some 60 million by 2015. According to another estimate, every year some 2.7 million young persons are becoming eligible for jobs whereas only about 0.7 million of them are getting employment. The number of the 'disguised unemployed' an economic arm meaning underemployed people or employed to a degree less than their potential, is some 32 per cent. The total civilian labor force of the country in 1996-97 was estimated at 42.97 million, of which 34.7 million were male and 8.27 million were female. These figures, however excluded the female labor force engaged in activities like poultry, livestock, paddy husking, preservation of food etc conducted in rural households and considered as domestic work rather than economic

Much has been written about our current high unemployment, but there is a strange reluctance by both liberal and conservative commentators to assess blame for the dramatic loss of well-paying American jobs. The causes are not only the general recession and the collapse of the housing market, but bad decisions by government and business that deserve finger-pointing. Since 2000, the U.S. has lost millions of jobs due to outsourcing and in sourcing. Those are euphemisms for exporting high-paying jobs to low-wage foreign countries, while importing an uneducated underclass willing to work for lower-than-U.S. wages without benefits.

The winners in this game include the corporate executives and stockholders who benefited by cheap labor, but the losers are the U.S. middle class. In addition to unemployment for those whose jobs were eliminated, the real wages (adjusted for inflation) for the jobs remaining have steadily declined.

Since 2000, the U.S. manufacturing sector has lost nearly 25 percent

of our total manufacturing workforce. Many of those jobs have gone to Communist China, where toys for the U.S. market are made in sweatshops by workers paid as little as 36 cents per hour, and many white-collar jobs have gone to India where telephone operators can be hired for $1 an hour.

Leading economists are becoming willing to admit that their devotion to free trade was misplaced. Paul Samuelson, Nobel prize-winning economist and a dominating figure in U.S. economics for decades, faced reality before he died and admitted, "There is nothing in the theory that says trade is always a win-win for every group."

Dr. Jerome Corse’s latest book, America for Sale, is a superb explanation to help the public understand our current economic woes. He shows that free trade is turning America into a two-tiered country like many foreign countries, with few of the very rich and a lot of the very poor, while the middle class loses big-time.

Extent:

According to a study of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the rate of growth of unemployment in Bangladesh was 1.9 per cent in the decade of the nineties. But the growth in unemployment currently is 3.7 per cent. The ILO figures also show Bangladesh in the twelfth position among the top twenty countries in the world where unemployment is rising. The number of the unemployed in Bangladesh now is estimated at 30 million. The way the rate of unemployment is increasing, it is feared that at this rate unemployment would soar to some 60 million by 2015. According to another estimate, every year some 2.7 million young persons are becoming eligible for jobs whereas only about 0.7 million of them are getting employment. The number of the 'disguised unemployed' an economic erm meaning underemployed people or employed to a degree less than their potential, is some 32 per cent .The total civilian labor force of the country in 1996-97 was estimated at 42.97 million, of which 34.7 million were male and 8.27 million were female. These figures, however excluded the female labor force engaged in activities like poultry, livestock, paddy husking, preservation of food etc. conducted in rural households and considered as domestic work rather than economic.

Index Mundi, a web based statistical data provider, the following chat has been published. This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted.

Year	Unemployment rate (%)
2000	35.2
2001	35.2
2002	35
2003	40
2004	40
2005	40
2006	2.5
2007	2.5
2008	2.5
2009	2.5
2010	5.1
2011	4.8

Definition of Unemployment

rate: This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted.

Types:

Economists break unemployment down into three distinct varieties - Structural, Frictional, and Seasonal. Below we will examine each type of unemployment to see how they differ.

Structural Unemployment:

"Structural unemployment is an unemployment that comes from there being an absence of demand for the workers that are available."

There are two major reasons that cause an absence of demand for workers in a particular industry:

1.    Changes in Technology: As personal computers replaced typewriters, typewriter factories shut down. Workers in typewriter factories because unemployed and had to find other industries to be employed in.

2.    Changes in Tastes: If bagpipes become unpopular, bagpipe companies will go bankrupt and their workers will be unemployed.

Frictional Unemployment:

"Frictional unemployment is unemployment that comes from people moving between jobs, careers, and locations."

Sources of frictional unemployment include the following:

1.    People entering the workforce from school.

2.    People re-entering the workforce after raising children.

3.    People changing un-employers due to quitting or being fired (for reasons beyond structural ones).

4.    People changing careers due to changing interests.

5.    People moving to a new city (for non-structural reasons) and being unemployed when they arrive.

"Cyclical unemployment occurs when the unemployment rate moves in the opposite direction as the GDP growth rate. So when GDP growth is small (or negative) unemployment is high."

Seasonal unemployment:

Seasonal unemployment is unemployment due to changes in the season - such as a lack of demand for department store Santa Clauses in January. Seasonal unemployment is a form of structural unemployment, as the structure of the economy changes from month to month.

Possible Solution to Unemployment:

In order to eliminate this problem we have to mobilize all our energies to this great purpose without wasting time. The most essential measure is industrialization. A large number of mills, factories and industries should be set up where many of our youths will get the opportunity to work.

A great change should be brought in our education system. More importance should be given on professional, vocational and technical education. These will make a opening to work in different industrial sectors both home and abroad.

The educated youth should change their attitude to life. They must learn to choose independent career. They can start small business. In fact self-employment is possible solution to this great problem. It is very effective to search jobs on various freelance websites and get desired jobs easily.

Steps should be taken to set up co-operative farming, cottage industries and to open new system of public work to create job for the unemployed people.

Exporting manpower can solve this problem to a little extent. If proper measure is taken, their number can easily be increased. But no attempt will bear any fruit unless effective measures are taken to keep the population growth under control.

Conclusion & Recommendation:

IN the prime minister's question-answer session on February 17, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina disclosed in the House her government's plan to bring down unemployment rate to 15 percent from the existing 40 percent by the year 2021. She listed the programs that her government had already undertaken for employment generation to remove the curse of unemployment. These include, inter alia, imparting technical training to unemployed youths through 38 technical training centers, building 30 more technical training centers in those districts with no such centers, and upgrading syllabus of 23 courses run by the manpower, employment and training bureau to international standards, keeping in mind the demands of international recruiters.

Unemployment means involuntary idleness due to lack of work. Unemployed means persons belonging to the labour force seeking but not doing any work during a specified period.

In the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2005-06 (published in April, 2008) of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the country's labour force (15 years + population) stood at 84.6 million. In the LFS of 2002-03, it stood at 80.8 million. The population below the age of 15 years falls into the category of child population and cannot, as per law, be treated as labour force. Even if we stick to the 2005-06 LFS figure of 84.6 million, after four-plus years the number of the unemployed calculated at 40 percent of the labour force stands at about 34 million in the country.

High rate of unemployment, particularly of the educated youths, poses serious socio-economic problems. Proliferation of schools and colleges, particularly in the rural areas, and various incentives given to the students, in particular to the female students at secondary and higher secondary levels, have helped enroll a good number of students from the lower strata of the society. But most of these students cannot go for higher education after passing the HSC/equivalent level primarily due to two reasons: one, financial hardship of their guardians, and two, guardians' insistence on seeking a job.

A jobless educated youth, particularly a male, becomes a burden for his family. He gets little respect in his family or in the society. This forces him to resort to criminal activities such as hijacking, working as a trafficker of dangerous drugs, working as a muscleman of a corrupt politician, or joining a group of militants.

The vast pool of unemployed youths sometimes fall prey to recruiting agencies for overseas employment, which offer them nonexistent jobs or conditions that leave them stranded upon arrival in the receiving countries. This leads to suffering in the form of imprisonment, forced labour, etc.

The point that comes to the fore is ascertaining the rate of unemployment in the country. According to the PM's statement, it is 40 percent at the moment. It is not known which ministry provided information to the PM. If it was labour and manpower ministry, then what was its source of information? On the other hand, the LFS 2005-06 estimated the rate of unemployment of labour force at 4.3 percent which was also the same in the LFS of 2002-03 (ref. page 68 of LFS 2005-06).

Why this big gap? The LFS 2005-06 says that while conducting survey, it followed ILO definition which considers any person, who did not work for pay or profit for even an hour in the preceding week (of survey), as unemployed. Many people doubt the correctness of our survey along the ILO line.

Secondly, according to the LFS 2005-06, the annual labour force growth rate for the period 2000-2003 to 2005-06 stood at 2.21 percent, which is higher than the annual population growth rate. Have we been able to increase job opportunities at the above growth rate of labour force?

Thirdly, when the rate of unemployment in the United States is hovering around 10 percent (9.7 percent in January, 2010), how can our unemployment rate be only 4.3 percent?

The importance of timely and reliable information can hardly be over-emphasised. The basis for this information is nationally produced statistics. Statistics provide information, or the evidence needed for the government's daily administration and policy analyses; policy makers' planning, businesses' decisions, and citizens' possibility of holding the government accountable. While reliable and available statistics can foster awareness and knowledge of the country's social, demographic, economic and environmental conditions, poor statistics can lead to insufficient knowledge of the social, demographic, economic and environmental conditions and impede successful planning, policy decisions and accountability.

In view of what has been stated above, it is high time to ascertain the correct rate of unemployment in the country, and it must be free from political bias in the greater national interest.