25 January 2004	Sunday	02 Zilhaj 1424

KARACHI: A total number of 4,633 jobs were advertised in the Sunday Advertiser of Dawn during the month of December 2003. The private sector offered 4,229 openings, while the public sector sought only 404 new recruits. This month about 35 jobs in foreign countries were also advertized in different categories, including those in information technology.

The Sunday Advertiser of Dawn was scanned to identify quantum and composition of job market. We are aware of limitations of such an exercise as it caters mostly to English reading public. Types of jobs advertized here target primarily educated manpower residing in urban Pakistan. It was also noticed that many better job openings were not for the new entrants but for mid career professionals. This leads basically to reallocation of manpower from one to another job and not necessarily creation of an opening for a new entrant.

Results of the study indicated that most jobs opening were related to marketing. Greater involvement of private sector in education led to establishment of innumerable schools, colleges and universities all over the country. Irrespective of the quality of education they did create demand for educated individuals. Some detailed observations of this exercise are given below.

Sales & marketing tops the list offering 1,034 jobs in this category. The second in the list is teaching staff with 791 openings. Marketing and sales job in many cases do not specify the number of people required. These are in all probability not proper full time jobs but offer a paltry retainership and rest one gets as commission on business that one brings for the organization. These adds specify no hard and fast criteria or qualification.

A study reveals that secretarial category that includes telephone operator, personal secretary, receptionist, supervisor, merchandiser and others offered around 1,146 jobs.

The secured jobs such as those in the banking sector offered only nine jobs in one month.

The study shows that most of the banks and DFIs are expanding their networks by selling credit and leasing business. They are hiring new MBAs and fresh graduates for marketing their new products on commission basis. Apart from commission these banks and DFIs also offer nominal wages as monthly salary so that new-comers could stay and continue their jobs.

Although they are under-employed, these MBAs have no other option but to continue their jobs. Shrinking market and growing demand for employment also force them to carry on with under-employed jobs.

The study shows that the services sector remained the main employment provider offering more than 4,000 jobs, while the industrial sector, which contributes significantly to the national economy, sought only 289 engineers during the month under review.

The higher cadre of employment - administration/management and finance - offers only 259 jobs. The other openings include: doctors 194 jobs; medical 152; accountants 142; computer 224; and information technology 26.