THE unemployment phenomenon underpins a number of large economic and social problems that continue to plague the country. Unemployment is seen in large part as the driving force behind the recurring political turmoil, social unrest, mental health issues and even terrorist activities in the country. In the present circumstances, Covid-19 and the months-long curbs on movement have also rendered tens of thousands of people jobless, adding to the unemployed numbers. While the popular notion of unemployment usually involves the rural and uneducated population, the reality could not be farther from the truth. For a number of years, the country has been seeing an increasing number of unemployed degree holders. In fact, unemployment rates among graduates are about three times higher than others in the unemployed labour force. According to the Labour Force Survey 2017-18, around 8.78m youth, 20 years or older, hold a Bachelor’s degree. Out of these, 5.97m are “economically active” while 0.97m are unemployed. Going by these figures, the unemployment rate of graduates is much higher than the national average of 5.8pc. However, Covid-19 and fiscal constraints have pushed the overall unemployment rate up to 9.56pc, according to the government’s annual plan for 2020-21. Meanwhile, data from the Economic Survey suggests that around 21.71m people were either rendered jobless or were not able to work on account of Covid-19 related lockdowns.

This means that the number of unemployed educated people could be higher than projected. While the country’s large informal economy accounts for up to 71.1pc jobs outside agriculture according to the Labour Force Survey 2018-19, the formal economy has not expanded enough to accommodate graduates. On the other hand, the standard of education in many public and private universities is also questionable. Experts have been warning for years that the knowledge imparted to students in universities is not sufficient for the competitive job market. This is borne out by the fact that around 50,000 engineers are not able to find jobs, according to the Pakistan Engineering Council. Successive governments have tried to tackle this challenge but their outdated approach has not introduced lasting change. Instead of doling out government jobs, the ruling circles should focus on creating an enabling environment for private firms and businesses creating jobs for the local population. At the same time, higher education practices also need to be revisited and overhauled so that varsities produce graduates with competitive market value.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2021