ISLAMABAD: A total of 276,578,9 people went abroad for employment over the past five years and nine months, according to the data released by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development.

The data includes 31,607 people from Balochistan and covers the period between January 2008 and September 30 this year.

Based on the criterion of the “right person for the right job”, the selection of workers was prerogative of foreign employers.

The Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) sent 6,851 people to various countries over the past five years. A total of 1,450 Pakistanis were sent to 10 countries in 2008-09, 1,460 in 2009-10, 1,918 in 2010-11, 715 in 2011-12, and 1,308 in 2012-13.

A total of 339 Pakistanis were sent to the UAE, 13 to Bahrain, 2001 to Saudi Arabia, 575 to Oman, 196 to Libya, 158 to Malaysia, 3,521 to South Korea, 40 to Ethiopia, eight to Qatar, two to Maldives and one to Indonesia over the past five years.—APP