UAE saves manpower export ector 'from disaster'
Monday, 4 January 2010
Mashiur Rahaman
The oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) remained the topmost job provider for Bangladeshi semi-skilled and skilled workers, giving 46 per cent of the country's total overseas employment in 2009.
Despite global financial recession, a total of 258,384 Bangladeshi secured jobs in different sectors in the UAE, which was 38.4 per cent lower than that of the earlier year.
In 2008, a total of 419,355 Bangladeshis were provided jobs in the UAE, thanks to massive real-estate construction boom.
According to data revealed by Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET), Oman, another gulf state, was the second largest job providing country for Bangladeshi workers, followed by Singapore.
As many as 41,704 Bangladeshi job seekers were employed in Oman in 2009 while 39,581 in far-eastern Singapore, the data revealed.
The official overseas employment data also revealed that the gulf-state Bahrain with 28,426 employment opportunities and north-east African country Libya with 22,742 employment opportunities were on the top of employment list in 2009, showing significant growth from 2008.
On the other hand, the BMET data revealed a drastic fall in the recruitment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Malaysia that were considered the traditional job markets for Bangladeshi workers for several years.
Unlike earlier years, the number of employment in KSA was only 14,666 in 2009, a net 89 per cent fall within just a year.
Similarly, fresh Bangladeshi employment in Malaysia witnessed a 90.59 per cent fall in 2009 against the figure in 2008, the BMET data revealed.
Following 55,000 Bangladeshi workers' visa suspension since March, only 12,402 found jobs in the state of Asia's most vibrant economy. Among them 11,288 were employed within the first two months (January-February) of the year.
"Fast recovering economy of UAE has saved Bangladeshi manpower exporting sector from disaster," President of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) Ghulam Musatfa commented.
Constant demand for manpower in its ongoing construction projects made UAE the prime destination for Bangladeshi workers last year, he added.
The president of the country's 800-member recruiting agents association blamed imposed ban on Bangladeshi workers import in Malaysia and restriction in KSA as the main reason for the 46 per cent fall in the year's manpower export from 2008.
He, however, expressed optimism that overseas jobs for Bangladeshis will grow substantially in 2010.
Meanwhile Overseas Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain also forecast a brighter year ahead following intensive diplomatic negotiations with old and potential overseas job markets.
The oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) remained the topmost job provider for Bangladeshi semi-skilled and skilled workers, giving 46 per cent of the country's total overseas employment in 2009.
Despite global financial recession, a total of 258,384 Bangladeshi secured jobs in different sectors in the UAE, which was 38.4 per cent lower than that of the earlier year.
In 2008, a total of 419,355 Bangladeshis were provided jobs in the UAE, thanks to massive real-estate construction boom.
According to data revealed by Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET), Oman, another gulf state, was the second largest job providing country for Bangladeshi workers, followed by Singapore.
As many as 41,704 Bangladeshi job seekers were employed in Oman in 2009 while 39,581 in far-eastern Singapore, the data revealed.
The official overseas employment data also revealed that the gulf-state Bahrain with 28,426 employment opportunities and north-east African country Libya with 22,742 employment opportunities were on the top of employment list in 2009, showing significant growth from 2008.
On the other hand, the BMET data revealed a drastic fall in the recruitment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Malaysia that were considered the traditional job markets for Bangladeshi workers for several years.
Unlike earlier years, the number of employment in KSA was only 14,666 in 2009, a net 89 per cent fall within just a year.
Similarly, fresh Bangladeshi employment in Malaysia witnessed a 90.59 per cent fall in 2009 against the figure in 2008, the BMET data revealed.
Following 55,000 Bangladeshi workers' visa suspension since March, only 12,402 found jobs in the state of Asia's most vibrant economy. Among them 11,288 were employed within the first two months (January-February) of the year.
"Fast recovering economy of UAE has saved Bangladeshi manpower exporting sector from disaster," President of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) Ghulam Musatfa commented.
Constant demand for manpower in its ongoing construction projects made UAE the prime destination for Bangladeshi workers last year, he added.
The president of the country's 800-member recruiting agents association blamed imposed ban on Bangladeshi workers import in Malaysia and restriction in KSA as the main reason for the 46 per cent fall in the year's manpower export from 2008.
He, however, expressed optimism that overseas jobs for Bangladeshis will grow substantially in 2010.
Meanwhile Overseas Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain also forecast a brighter year ahead following intensive diplomatic negotiations with old and potential overseas job markets.