Dhaka Tops as Most Jobless Division with 687,000 Unemployed

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Labour Force Survey 2024 reveals that unemployment is distributed unevenly across the country. The capital, Dhaka, has the highest number of unemployed individuals at 687,000, followed by Chattogram with 584,000 and Rajshahi with 357,000. Other divisions, such as Khulna, Sylhet, Rangpur, Barishal, and Mymensingh, also report significant unemployment figures, bringing the national total to approximately 2.62 million unemployed individuals.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), an unemployed person has actively sought work for at least a month and has not engaged in any paid work, even for an hour, in the past week. However, this definition does not accurately reflect the situation in Bangladesh, where surviving on just an hour of work per week is not feasible. Nearly 10 million people are underemployed, meaning they work far fewer hours than necessary, which can classify them as “pseudo-unemployed.”

Unemployment is particularly pronounced among youth aged 15–29, who account for 76% of the unemployed population—approximately 2 million young people. Over 8% of youths are jobless, and one in three university graduates remains unemployed, highlighting that education alone does not guarantee employment.

Many job seekers rely on personal networks; 36% turn to family and friends, 26% respond to newspaper ads, and 12% apply directly to organisations. This indicates a heavy reliance on informal channels for job searching.

Interestingly, individuals with higher education face the highest unemployment rates. About 13.5% of unemployed people hold bachelor’s degrees, while only about 1% of those with little or no formal education are unemployed. This disparity reflects a significant mismatch between the education system and the job market.

From: Ittefaq