Trend of overseas job market

IN any trade there are always ups and downs. So, it is important to study these trends over time to have a correct idea of the behaviour of the market of the particular article of trade concerned. A correct understanding of the market trend can help develop a future strategy on the issue of trade in question. The issue under consideration is the export of manpower. Like any trade, it, too, does not follow a constant curve that only goes upwards in a predictable fashion. If one looks at the trend of manpower export year on year basis, it will be observed that the overall performance was better than what it was in the year that preceded it. However, over the months, one might also identify some trends, which are not always positive. For example, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), the overseas job market in last August showed a decline of around 38 per cent in the Middle Eastern countries as well as Malaysia in South East Asia over the previous month. It was also the leanest month in terms of overseas job creation since the beginning of the year. Projected further backwards on the time curve, the monthly trend also marked a drop at around 28 per cent if compared to what it was in the same month in the previous year. The aforementioned trend was observed mainly in the job markets of Saudi Arabia, Malaysia as well as the Persian Gulf countries, the United Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.brShould this poor record of overseas job market in the month of August be a cause for serious concern Though any fall in the market trend of any particular object of transaction should be a matter of serious study, it should not call for unnecessary scare mongering either. It is simply because, over the last eight months since January, the overall trend demonstrated a robust growth of 23.75 per cent supported by high market demand for Bangladeshi manpower in the same countries under review. brHowever, the behaviour of the month of August can still be brought under closer study for a still better understanding of the international job market. Trend of the overseas employment market aside, there is certainly cause for delight given the fact that the expatriate workers sent some US$8.0 billion home from different countries in the fiscal 2007-08. And what should make one further happy is the fact that the remittance from the expatriate workers was US$2.0 billion more than what it was in the fiscal that preceded it. So, to sum up the developments in the overseas job market, there is every reason to be hopeful, seeing that the overall growth has remained positive over the years. brWith around 5.6 million Bangladeshi expatriates already working world-wide and more compatriots joining them every year, the volume of remittance from them should demonstrate a steady trend of growth annually. Unless there is any big crisis at any particular growth point of the market, there is no justifiable reason why the overseas job market should not demonstrate a comfortable trend of growth. However, complacency is also not the answer to the question either. And the job of the government is also not just to count the hard-earned dollars sent by our expatriate workers. In fact, the concerned ministry and the manpower bureau's job should not be limited to only studying and recording what has already happened. For in cases of reverses, as it has happened in Kuwait, the department should develop tools to issue early warning and plan remedial measures far ahead of the time when the crisis may reach a point of no return. This calls for stronger market monitoring and more proactive role of the ministry and the department concerned as well as of the diplomatic missions of the country abroad.