As Coronavirus turnout is falling alarming, global unemployment and underemployment are

significantly increasing by the minute. Around 25 million people working in different sectors may
lose their jobs worldwide due to the economic and labor crisis created by Covid-19. Bangladesh
as a lower developing country has already been facing challenges as employment is the main
source of earning income and livelihood for most of the people here. Hence, proper policy and
execution is necessary to protect the livelihoods of people.

Unemployment in Bangladesh:

Bangladesh is a labor surplus country with a population of 156 million. Moreover, under
employment increased from 16.6 percent to 20.3 percent during 2000 to 2010.

Figure 1- Unemployment rate in Bangladesh over 2010-2020

Employment in Bangladesh, not only helps the unemployed but also his/her family members to
meet basic necessities of life.
Aside from high unemployment, the employment elasticity rate of Bangladesh is also low,
indicating job opening are few compared to economic growth. Between fiscal 2005-06 and 2009-10,
the country’s employment elasticity was 0.55. It plunged to 0.25 between fiscal 2010-11 and 2017-18.

Overall, Bangladesh’s tremendous economic growth has been unable to create jobs
proportionately over the past decade.

Global unemployment Due to Coronavirus Outbreak:

The lockdown due to this global pandemic has shrunken the employment all over the world, 5.3
million more people will be pushed into unemployment by the crisis. The study said that some
24.7 million more people will become jobless, on top of the 188 million registered as
unemployed in 2019.

Scenario of Bangladesh :

Since a large part of Bangladeshi foreign exchange comes from remittance with a huge
workforce, who are also forced to come back here in Bangladesh with an uncertainty about their
jobs, the scenario in Bangladesh is worse.
The number of people who live in poverty despite holding one or more jobs will also increase
significantly. It is estimated that between 8.8 and 35 million people. It is apprehended that some
groups will be disproportionately impacted by the job crisis. This will include youth, older
workers, women and migrants. In a way that could increase income inequality.
According to TOAB, around five lakh people work full-time in the tourism and hospitality sector
of the country. "Twenty to thirty percent of them may lose jobs because of coronavirus," said Shiblul
Azam Quoreshi, first vice president of Toab.
"Except for the regular employees of the sector, about 13 lakh people also work here part-time. They
have already lost their jobs."
All tourist places across Bangladesh, including Cox's Bazar, Sundarbans, Sylhet, Rangmati are
closed off to visitors as a measure against the spread.
BIRAA Secretary General Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, said the situation might rock
the country's labor market if the present situation continued.
"At least 1.5 lakh people are waiting to go abroad. Among them, 50 percent came home on leave. They
are stuck here because of flight cancellations and other regulatory issues. A huge number of expatriate
Bangladeshis are now facing the risk of losing their overseas jobs."

Policy Development:

It is crucial time, hence policies should be determined considering sustainability and sensitivity
so that they can be used on a long term basis to create positive changes. The strain on incomes
resulting from the decline in economic activities will devastate workers close to or below the
poverty line. Therefore, it needs urgent large-scale and coordinated measures to protect workers
in the workplace. These include stimulating the economy and employment and support jobs and
income through social protections, paid leave and other subsidies.
Labor productivity in Bangladesh is very low level in comparison to other Asian Countries. In
China it was US$ 339, Indonesia US$ 335, Vietnam US$ 136 but in Bangladesh it is only US$
125. So good jobs should be created where labor productivity will be high.
The generalized and sector specific policy suggestions are asserted below:
- Unemployment is prominent, but many government/semi government job positions are
currently vacant. All vacancies should be filled in to lessen pressure on officials.

- Though large subsidies and government patronization exists, vocational job fields are
often looked down upon by educated youth – extensive social awareness programs should
be launched to create a positive outlook about such jobs.

- Access to tertiary education metrics should be reanalyzed as often this lead to double
unemployment with more financial loss as non-governmental tertiary education is quite
costly in Bangladesh.

- International payment and shipment procedure should be made easier for freelancers and
entrepreneurs.
Agriculture:

Due to a number of factors, Bangladesh's labor-intensive agriculture has achieved steady

increases in food grain production – specially due to labor force. Huge scopes of agriculture can
be extensively used here with the help of government and NGOS.
• As agro product export will require more food security after Corona situation, specialized
vocational training could be launched to create skilled manpower in food security.
•
• As the labor needed only seasonally, about 40% of the agricultural population is
underemployed; special safety net system/ seasonal training system can be launched to
make them employed as social workers in off season for awareness purpose.

Manufacture:

• Bangladesh has a largely high number of educated unemployed population. After

Industrial Revolution 4.0, RMG and other sectors will be more technologically advanced,
requiring highly educated workforce- these youth can easily be integrated with little
professional training.

Service:

Service sector is seriously slow to meet the rising numbers of new work force that enters the job
market each year. For a massive 73.87 million labor force, job, openings are low.
• At present near about 5 lac workers migrate to foreign countries annually. The migration
process is to be simple and short. Proper and legal migration should be made more
accessible.
•
There is no appropriate employment policy and service rules consisting rights and
privileges in the private sectors. A national employment policy is necessary to prevent
job exploitation.

Although many governmental efforts have taken place to stabilize the condition in Bangladesh,
combined strategy is necessary to achieve the “Vision 2020” goal with higher employments and brighter
future.