Introduction:

Labour force have ben defined in two alternative way in labour force survey (LFS) in
Bangladesh and they term these as ‘usual’ and ‘extended’ definition. Usual definition is most
widely used as it is used 15 years as lower age limit for inclusion in labour force (Rahman,
2005). In LFS 2016-17 defined labour force as the sum of the person in employment and person
in unemployment. These two groups together represent the current supply of labour for the
production of goods and service. There is another term in labour force namely ‘youth labour
force’ that cover persons of labour force age 15-29. On the other hand, the proportion of
country’s working age population that involved actively in the labour market. They may be
currently working or may be looking for work both types of groups are considered as labour
force participation rate (LFPR) (BBS, 2018). Another two-crucial terminology used to explain
labour market is employment and unemployment. Employed comprise all persons of 15 years or
old who during a specified period was actively involved at least for 1 hour, in any form of work
for wage or salary, profit or family gain, and including the production of goods for own
consumption. Unemployment is just the opposite concept of employment. It indicates the
proportion of labour force that are willingly looking for work but still now don’t have a job.Labour
underutilization clearly refers to the mismatches between labour supply and demand (BBS,
2018)

The size of the female labour force in Bangladesh increased at a significantly more rapid
rate than that of men from the 2015-16 fiscal year to FY2016-17. According to a report
from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the size of female labour force
increased by 4.6%, while the male labour force increased by 1%. The total labour force
increased by 1.4 million, or 2.3%. The findings of the report, titled the “Labour Force
Survey 2016-17,” were published at a seminar at the BBS auditorium in Dhaka on
Tuesday. The report also said that the unemployment rate remained at a constant 4.2%,
with the ratio of unemployed men versus women at almost 50:50. Planning Minister AHM
Mustafa Kamal graced the seminar as the chief guest, while state minister for Finance
and Planning MA Mannan spoke as special guest.
BBS Director General Md Amir Hossain delivered the welcome address while Logistics
Management and Information System (LMIS) Project Director Kabir Uddin Ahmed, also
a  BBS director, presented the findings of the survey. State Minister for Finance and
Planning MA Mannan said the rapid growth of the female labour force was a sign of
women empowerment. He also said that the quantity of skilled labour needed to be
increased if Bangladesh wanted to be seen as a developed country. He added that the
country has now moved more into the industrial sector rather than the agricultural sector.
Meanwhile, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said Bangladesh was no longer a
poor country, having graduated from LDC status.
The planning minister added ‘Bangladesh is now like other developing countries of the
world such as China, India and Malaysia,”. He also hoped that Bangladesh could attain a
robust GDP growth in excess of 8%, stressing that all needed to put in sincere effort in
order to do this. The report also mentioned that 1.3 million new employment
opportunbities were created in the last fiscal year, while 1.4 million people entered into
paid employment from unpaid employment.
“As a result, the number of employment opportunities created in the country over the last
fiscal year stood at 2.7 million,”the report read. Furthermore, 1 million employment
opportunities were created for Bangladeshi’s abroad, leading to a total 3.7 million new
employment opportunities. The number of contributing unpaid family workers decreased
sharply, by 18.6%, in the 2016-17 fiscal year, and the highest proportion in formal
employment were highly educated. Labour under-utilization decreased by 7.5%, with the
majority of workers being in the RMG sector.