Bangladesh’s education system is failing to produce skilled human resources for industries, leading to rising unemployment among educated youth while industries struggle to find qualified workers, according to economist Selim Jahan.

The past government had been relying on international definitions and standards that are over four decades old to measure labour data, painting a rosy picture of low unemployment and an improved labour market.

The share of unemployed tertiary-educated youth within the total unemployed population in Bangladesh increased to 27.8 percent in 2022 from 9.7 percent in 2013 as many struggled to find jobs that match their skills and educational qualifications, according to the latest World Bank (WB) report.

The recent unrest stemming from a student movement seeking reforms to the quota policy for government jobs boiled over into violence after the initially peaceful protest was allegedly attacked by an opposing party.

Inflation, which erodes the purchasing power for consumers as well as businesses, happens in two ways.

The employability of fresh graduates remains a pressing concern for both students and employers.

A great majority of the world population today is not in control of their fate.

Although an increasing number of female students are coming out of universities every year, they continue to have the highest unemployment rate among graduates, according to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2022 released at the end of last week.

Almost every weekend, residents in Dhaka see a common scene in front of educational institutions: youths are either waiting at the gates to go inside or coming out after taking part in the recruitment tests in their efforts to land jobs.

Bangladesh has nearly 8 lakh graduates who were unemployed in 2022, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

The obstacles to youth economic engagement are as multifaceted as they are complex.

Bangladesh now has 25 lakh jobless people: BBS

The psychological costs of one’s parents going into unemployment are extremely nuanced

Ironically, under the shadow of stability, the quality of economics and politics has been compromised

It seems the Bangladesh economy is stuck in a time warp, going by the latest edition of the Labour Force Survey unveiled yesterday.

Scrap vessel imports by Bangladesh hit a four-year low in 2022 as banks in the country have become reluctant to open letters of credit amid the ongoing US dollar shortage, according to industry people.

The populist remedies for youth and educated unemployment will not work without a coherent and coordinated plan from the government.

The solution to this problem lies in generating more opportunities for the employment of our graduates – at home and abroad.

Plunging casino revenues in Macau, the world's largest gambling hub, are taking a heavy toll on the wider economy, forcing hundreds of businesses to close down and pushing unemployment to its highest level since 2009.

For nearly two years, Raushan Mahmud has been working as a cashier at a firm that produces garment accessories in Gazipur.