Why are so many graduates jobless?

The picture of graduate unemployment that emerges from the latest survey of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) should not come as a surprise. According to the Labour Force Survey 2022 released on Wednesday, 12 percent of university graduates—or nearly 8 lakh—were unemployed last year, representing the highest percentage of unemployment among jobseekers from all levels of education. For context, the unemployment rate among people having higher secondary degrees was 8.87 percent, and it was 2.82 percent among those who completed secondary education. While the national average is also depressing, what troubles us more is why so many graduates, after having invested so much and gone through multiple layers of self-development, are still struggling to find employment.

Because of the difficulties of measuring/defining unemployment as well as the concerns over the reliability of government-produced figures, some experts believe the actual number of the unemployed will be much higher. One may recall that an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report in 2014 claimed that 47 percent of university graduates were unemployed. Then, a 2017 estimate by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) went a step further, reporting a staggering 66 percent unemployment among graduates. Even if we stick with the relatively measly BBS figure, it still drives home the urgency of creating more opportunities for educated jobseekers.

The year-on-year surge in unemployment is not limited to any specific field; even engineers and medical professionals, generally deemed to be in high demand, are facing similar challenges. It is essential to understand that the increased rate of graduate unemployment cannot be attributed solely to a lack of skills or qualifications, although having proper skills certainly helps. There are market realities that cannot be denied, including the protracted fallouts of Covid-19 and ongoing economic downturn as well as the declining investment in job creation. The uncertainties surrounding the upcoming general election may further shrink fiscal space for the employers. All this suggests that there will not be imminent relief for graduates.

Against this backdrop, it is vital that the authorities take the employment situation seriously. Graduates should be the backbone of a nation's workforce, driving its progress and innovation. When that doesn't happen, it risks falling behind. Lack of opportunities creates frustration and anger among the youth, which may have far-reaching sociopolitical consequences. Therefore, the authorities must urgently adopt a comprehensive strategy with a focus on providing marketable skills through training and internships, supporting entrepreneurship, reforming the education sector, and addressing the broader economic issues and providing incentives for investment and job creation.