Joblessness in today's economic reality

Amid rising inflation and economic stagnation, it is indeed worrisome to learn from a survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) that the unemployment rate increased from 3.15 per cent to 3.20 per cent, with a staggering 2.31 million people remaining unemployed, during October to December 2023 compared to the same period a year before. However, the actual situation of unemployment could be far worse than the BBS data presents, as allegation has it that the state agency often attempts to paint a rosy picture, and trust in its statistical output is seriously undermined by a lack of transparency. Even the latest unemployment rate presented by the BBS shows that the USA has a higher unemployment rate of 3.70 per cent than Bangladesh's 3.20 per cent, which for obvious reasons seems too good to be true. It is generally believed that the BBS figures mask underemployment. Underemployment is high, and it is learned that many work only a few hours a week, and that too at low wages.
The employment situation is vulnerable to the economic regime in Bangladesh as well as in other countries. Starting during the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic downturn has left its mark and continues to linger due to subsequent Russia-Ukraine war and the country's political instability surrounding the 12th parliamentary elections. However, now that the election is over, it is hoped that a semblance of normalcy will return to politics and that investors will overcome election jitters. Then again, the country is finding itself on the horns of a dilemma regarding money supply in the market. To tame galloping inflation, the central bank has adopted a contractionary monetary policy and increased banks' lending rates, which has increased the cost of borrowing and is choking private investment.
The private sector is the largest source of employment in Bangladesh and the creation of new jobs will depend on private sector investment and growth in exports. However, the sector is hamstrung by a sharp rise in interest rates on bank loans and a quantum leap in their additional expenditure on foreign debt servicing due to the devaluation of the local currency against the dollar. Consequently, every industry is now in a wait-and-see mood, which is not labour-friendly. It means companies are employing the minimum number of workers for maximum work at minimum pay. The growth of the private sector in the coming days will depend on how prudently the government can restore macroeconomic stability by addressing current economic challenges such as high inflation, exchange rate volatility, depleted foreign exchange reserves and erosion of investors' confidence.
In the meantime, the authorities should give further thrust to the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and new start-ups by ensuring easy lines of credit and favourable policy support. The SME sector can play a pivotal role in reducing the unemployment problem and cementing the country's economic base. However, given the size of our economy and population growth, the crisis of joblessness in society cannot be resolved with domestic resources alone. Some developed countries, including Japan, Germany, South Korea and Canada are facing dire shortages of skilled workers. Canada is even tweaking its immigration policy to attract more foreign skilled labour. It is a huge but largely untapped opportunity for Bangladesh. Therefore, more focus should be directed towards motivating educational institutions to equip youths with 21st-century skills. Under our existing tertiary education system, most universities, especially the colleges under national university, have turned out to be factories of churning out unemployable graduates. The higher educational institutions, therefore, should redraw their curriculum, focusing more on industry-relevant and globally in-demand skills, so that educated youths don't have to face the curse of joblessness after graduation.