Job schemes essential

More than 20.4 million workers are currently unemployed across 11 high-impact sectors of the economy, reveals a research titled "Post COVID-19 Jobs and Skills in Bangladesh" carried out by a2i project. A series of study conducted by local research organisations and international organisations also suggest that many people have lost their jobs and livelihoods opportunities due to the fallout of the coronavirus crisis.

For Bangladesh, the challenges are multiple. The Bangladeshis have lost jobs not merely at home, hundreds of thousands of expatriates became unemployed and were compelled to return home by this time from a number of countries. Thousands also left urban areas including Dhaka city to survive in their villages. These migrants once contributed to bringing change in the economic life of rural Bangladesh.

However, it is these groups who have become helpless now. They are joined by innumerable jobseekers including university graduates who cannot even seek opportunities during the pandemic. So, under the circumstances, it is essential to make policy focus on how to create millions of jobs by making necessary investment.

SB Newton

New Eskaton, Dhaka

[email protected]