The employment conundrum

The good news is that global youth unemployment rate, according to the International Labour Organisation's report, "Global Employment Trends for Youth 2024 (GET for Youth) dropped to 13 per cent in 2023 from 13.8 per cent in the pre-pandemic year 2019. But the bad news is that the 15.1 per cent unemployment rate in South Asia is higher than the global average notwithstanding the fact that it has registered the lowest unemployment among young population in the sub-region in 15 years. Although the 12th edition of the GET for Youth focuses on regional and sub-regional youth employment trend, not on specific countries, another report puts Bangladesh's youth unemployment at 15.74 per cent which is also higher than South Asian average. But still the ILO report has positive projection for the sub-region. It expects the 15.1 per cent youth unemployment in the sub-region to fall further to 14.9 per cent in 2025.

However, where the concerns are particularly unnerving is the unemployment characterised by 'not in employment, education and training (NEET) due to a lack of equal opportunities or access to training and jobs. The system is outrageously discriminatory with NEET rate among young women in the sub-region staying at 42.4 per cent as against young men's 11.5 per cent---almost four times higher than their male counterparts. Had this discriminatory treatment of young women been lessened to a tolerable degree, if not eliminated entirely, the picture of unemployment in South Asia would look much better. True, discrimination in varying forms even within male and female groups and sub-groups prevails in every society but in countries where democracy and human rights are conspicuous by their absence, socio-economic avenues can be accessed only by the privileged. The youth force's recent triumph in Bangladesh over a government indifferent to young people's popular will is a vindication of a generation's craving for social equality.

Bangladesh has long stood on a crossroads with more than a quarter of its population ---currently at 25.81 per cent--- within the 15-29 age group waiting to reap the demographic dividend. But it has failed to materialise because of repeated experiments with education at the primary and secondary levels as well as a lack of initiatives to develop and update higher secondary and tertiary education in order to make the learning equal to the market demands and emerging challenges. That the youth employment to population ratio (EPR) in South Asia stood at 27.3 per cent is no surprise. The low employment ratio is due mostly to exclusion of young women from employment and also because of creation of decent job opportunities for the new entrants.

When permanent and decent-paying jobs continue to shrink as against a growing army of job-seekers, not only does it create social imbalance and friction but also leads to yawning inequality. The social divides can lead to explosive situations as Bangladesh has become a witness of late. Making access to equal opportunities for all is a sine qua non for societies to prosper. Planned reinvestment of wealth created from the manufacturing, service and other sectors can further boost both production and employment. To have the priority right holds the key to balanced development of the country and establishment of a just society.