Unemployment Rate
Content
Unemployment rate: 14% (2009 est.) 12.6% (2008 est.) note: substantial underemployment exists Year Unemployment rate Rank Percent Change Date of Information 2003 7.80 % 119 2002 est. 2004 7.70 % 122 -1.28 % 2003 est. 2005 8.30 % 75 7.79 % 2004 est. 2006 6.60 % 65 -20.48 % 2005 est. 2007 6.50 % 72 -1.52 % 2006 est. 2008 5.60 % 71 -13.85 % 2007 est. 2009 7.40 % 92 32.14 % 2008 est. 2010 14.00 % 143 89.19 % 2009 est. Definition: This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted. Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of December 30, 2010 Unemployment is one of the biggest problems of Pakistan. That person is unemployed who has ability to do work and is willing to do work but is unable to get job opportunity. In the current situation more than 30 lakh people are unemployed in Pakistan and unemployment ratio is more than 12%. i. The biggest reason of unemployment in Pakistan is concerned with the backwardness of agriculture sector. Agriculture is the biggest sector of our economy that contributes 20.9% to GDP and 44% people get jobs from this sector directly or indirectly. Unemployment in this sector is from two sides. First is due to the adoption of latest machinery and capital intensive technology. Due to this, demand for labour has been decreased. Second is the backwardness of this sector. There is less availability of fertilisers, pesticides, quality seeds, absence of land reforms and lack of agriculture education. Due to all these factors agriculture sector is not expanding and there is general and disguised unemployment. ii. Industrial sector is the second largest sector of our economy and contributes 19% to national income. This sector should employ a large number of labor. But due to backwardness it is employing a small number of people. Due to electricity breakdown already established industry is deteriorating, resulting in the prevailing unemployment ratio. iii. High cost and low quality are responsible for less demand for our agri and industrial items. Because of less demand of such kinds of goods both the domestic and international producers are losing their interest in production. That¶s why people are becoming unemployed.
iv. In Pakistan education system is defective. There is no educational planning. This system is producing the stuff, which is useless in technical fields of the country. There is lack of technical and vocational institutions. Public attitude towards education is wrong, they want to get their degrees in general and arts subjects. Nobody can set up his own business without technical education. v. Millions of people in Pakistan are poor. Due to poverty people are overburdened with expenditures and their savings are very low. It is said that for the reasonable growth of economy saving rate should be at least 25% in any country, but in Pakistan it is only 13 to 14% which is very low. Low investment level is due to less savings, ultimately there is unemployment. vi. In Pakistan majority of the businessmen are less educated. They do not know how to run their businesses properly. So they become bankrupt. This factor generates unemployment on a massive level. vii. In Pakistan there is lack of every kind of planning. There is a huge difference between the demand and supply for labor. There is absence of such kind of planning to produce doctors, engineers, technical experts scientists etc, according to the need of different sectors of the economy. viii. Loadshedding of electricity is disturbing economy, especially the industrial sector. Due to less availability and high rates of basic inputs like electricity, gas and oil etc, many industries have been closed. ix. In Pakistan, tax system is not satisfactory. Ratio of direct taxes is more than indirect taxes. Tax evasion is common. Due to less income from the taxes, government cannot start developmental projects. If there is no investment, then from where public would find jobs. On the other side if government takes step to increase indirect taxes, it would also affect investment and ultimately employment level. x. Current international financial crisis is one of the biggest reason of unemployment in Pakistan and in the whole world. This crisis originated from the banking sector of USA, UK and some European countries and is now a global phenomena. xi. Pakistan¶s population growth rate is 1.8% which is the highest in the region. Our resources are limited. Different sectors of economy are unable to provide jobs to the growing population. So there is unemployment. xii. Fiscal and monetary policies are also responsible for unemployment. In view of fiscal policy, Pakistan has less funds to invest in job providing projects. Every annual budget shows deficit. Through the monetary policy if the government increases the rate of interest, it discourages the investors from getting loans. xiii. Political instability, bad law and order situation, army¶s interference, bomb blasts, terrorism, inconsistent economic policies etc are the factors which are disturbing domestic and foreign
investment. Pakistan investors are taking away their money to Dubai and other countries of the world. xiv. Due to 9/11 incident, Gulf war and the baseless allegations of terrorism the image of Pakistan has been affected very badly at international level. So in the current scenario Pakistan has limited job opportunities in other countries of the world. xv. Craze for work only in government sector, instead of private sector and seasonal firms, industries are also responsible for unemployment. xvi. Since 1947, Pakistani rulers got loans from IMF, World Bank and many other sources. Such loans were not utilised honestly. Current external debt of Pakistan is more than 50 billion dollar. Government has to allocate a big amount for the repayment of loans with interest. So due to less resources for developmental projects there is unemployment. Concluding, I would like to suggest that with proper economic planning, consistent policies of government, better law and order situation, abolishing energy crisis, sincerity with Pakistan and by adopting the Islamic economic system we can not only tackle the issue of unemployment but every economic problem of our country as well. Courtesy: Business Recorder
Unemployment in Pakistan Economy of an individual is at the utmost priority of every democratic as well as welfare state. Since the dawn of human history, individual needs have been prioritized by every human being. These individual needs can be met by proper sources of employment. After the transformation of the world from a feudal to an industrial society, the needs of an individual have risen sharply, giving due importance to finance.In Pakistan, due to gigantic rise in population, individual finances have been disturbed a lot. This is because of rising unemployment. The major cause of unemployment in Pakistan are following. The first cause of unemployment or joblessness in Pakistan is worsening law and order situation. Owing to this negative social phenomenon, foreign direct investment is sliding down to the bottom. According to the economic survey of Pakistan, in the current decade FDI was minimum last year. Also investors are loosing confidence in the political and economic system of the country therefore they are reluctant to invest in any new business venture. Resultantly, new jobs are not generating while the job seekers are rising continuously in the country. Secondly, Agriculture is account for the maximum job provision in the country. Agriculture sector is facing severe challenges of water shortage, climatic changes and technological backwardness in recent years. These factors have hit the per acre yield negatively which caused loosing of jobs of several people. In 2009-10, agriculture showed a growth of only 2% against the target of 3.8% while nearly 62% of Pakistan population is living in rural areas, and is directly or indirectly linked with agriculture for their livelihood. Thirdly, Industry is also a heaven for educated as well as semi-educated labour force in the country. Pakistan industry is short listing its labour because of gradual decrease in demand as well as acute energy shortage. Energy shortfall crosses 5500 MW at time causing severe damage to production capacity. Fourthly, World economic depression coupled with American war against Terror has also put negative impacts on our economy. It has not only doubled our expenditures on military front but also defaced Pakistan¶s image in international arena. These factors have put international investment in Pakistan at risk. Therefore, Pakistan is not attracting new investment causing unemployment in the country. Fifthly, United States of America spent 368 billion in 2007 on research and development whereas Pakistan¶s attention towards this sector is the least. By spending on education and research, we can create more specialized fields thus generating more jobs. In the 2010 budget, Pakistan has earmarked only 2% of its GDP on education which is the lowest in whole of the region. Sixthly, Population increase is also a cause of unemployment in Pakistan. Till 2010, Pakistan¶s population is 173.54 million wheras most of the population is unable to survive in the financial race because of illiteracy. In Spite of these factors poor governance, deep rooted corruption,
faulty educational system, lack of quality educational institutions and feudalism are also aggravating the situation further. Finally, we can hold the government responsible for the its poor performance in financial sector. Poor governance have marred the performance of our economic sector by every side and government has taken only cosmetic measures to redress the problem. Dr. Ishrat Hussain suggestions to improve the governance have been put on the backburner.
Unemployment is a central problem of Pakistan because when unemployment is high, resources are wasted and people's incomes are depressed; during such periods, economics distress also spills over to affect people's emotions and family lives. The socio economics system of Pakistan and institutions has failed to provide employment to the increasing labor force. Labor force include all persons who are of ten years and above , and during the period are without work, currently available for work and seeking for work. About 2.4 million persons of labor force were estimated as unemployed in 1999, as construction and transport sectors have an absorbed 11.2 percent, 6.8 and 5.7 percent as compared to 10.5percent, 7.2 and 5.0 percent respectively in 1994-1995. Major Causes of Unemployment: 1. Employment in the private sector absolutely stopped because they shifted their capital to other countries because of nationalization of industrial units badly affected the investment industrial sector. 2. The higher growth rate of population is the major cause of unemployment in Pakistan. The resources of the country are limited because population has exceeded the optimum level. 3. Karachi is the biggest industrial base of Pakistan, but investors are reluctant to invest there because of unrest and violence. 4. Our educational system is also responsible for increasing unemployment rate among the educated youth. The attitude of our youth towards the choice of a career is unrealistic and unproductive. Rapid mechanization and computer technology also causing unemployment. 5. Lack of infrastructure and facilities in the field of energy, telecommunication and transportation also prevent the industrialist from setting up new industries. 6. Lack of enough industries to employ ever increasing number of graduate in Pakistan 7. The government is not involving in capital expenditures which create more jobs. 8. Main issue of unemployment in our country is that when ever a new technology comes as software or hardware then all the people starts studying about that. Then at the end, you will see ten thousand students of a particular field about 5 to 10 job vacancies. 9. Things are not handled in appropriate manner, as the vacancies are less but job seekers are more than that. 10. Opportunities are not enough and system of reference is so much indulged in our society that if a company needs employees then workers of that company will provide some resume to them of their relatives and friends so in this way many people don't get the opportunity to apply for those jobs.
Suggestions: 1. Economic Revival package should announce by the government for the revival of industries sector, to stimulate production and investment. 2. Government should try to boost exports through broadening the tax base and lowering tariffs.
3. Government should announce multiple packages for the development of agriculture sector. 4. A number of fiscal and monetary measures should take attract industrialists and particularly foreign investment. 5. Technical training facilities should be provided. In this way unemployed people will get a chance to enhance their skills and become able to earn more reason able income. But as these days software companies are growing and new companies are starting their business very rapidly so, I hope ratio of unemployment will become low soon.
iv. In Pakistan education system is defective. There is no educational planning. This system is producing the stuff, which is useless in technical fields of the country. There is lack of technical and vocational institutions. Public attitude towards education is wrong, they want to get their degrees in general and arts subjects. Nobody can set up his own business without technical education. v. Millions of people in Pakistan are poor. Due to poverty people are overburdened with expenditures and their savings are very low. It is said that for the reasonable growth of economy saving rate should be at least 25% in any country, but in Pakistan it is only 13 to 14% which is very low. Low investment level is due to less savings, ultimately there is unemployment. vi. In Pakistan majority of the businessmen are less educated. They do not know how to run their businesses properly. So they become bankrupt. This factor generates unemployment on a massive level. vii. In Pakistan there is lack of every kind of planning. There is a huge difference between the demand and supply for labor. There is absence of such kind of planning to produce doctors, engineers, technical experts scientists etc, according to the need of different sectors of the economy. viii. Loadshedding of electricity is disturbing economy, especially the industrial sector. Due to less availability and high rates of basic inputs like electricity, gas and oil etc, many industries have been closed. ix. In Pakistan, tax system is not satisfactory. Ratio of direct taxes is more than indirect taxes. Tax evasion is common. Due to less income from the taxes, government cannot start developmental projects. If there is no investment, then from where public would find jobs. On the other side if government takes step to increase indirect taxes, it would also affect investment and ultimately employment level. x. Current international financial crisis is one of the biggest reason of unemployment in Pakistan and in the whole world. This crisis originated from the banking sector of USA, UK and some European countries and is now a global phenomena. xi. Pakistan¶s population growth rate is 1.8% which is the highest in the region. Our resources are limited. Different sectors of economy are unable to provide jobs to the growing population. So there is unemployment. xii. Fiscal and monetary policies are also responsible for unemployment. In view of fiscal policy, Pakistan has less funds to invest in job providing projects. Every annual budget shows deficit. Through the monetary policy if the government increases the rate of interest, it discourages the investors from getting loans. xiii. Political instability, bad law and order situation, army¶s interference, bomb blasts, terrorism, inconsistent economic policies etc are the factors which are disturbing domestic and foreign
investment. Pakistan investors are taking away their money to Dubai and other countries of the world. xiv. Due to 9/11 incident, Gulf war and the baseless allegations of terrorism the image of Pakistan has been affected very badly at international level. So in the current scenario Pakistan has limited job opportunities in other countries of the world. xv. Craze for work only in government sector, instead of private sector and seasonal firms, industries are also responsible for unemployment. xvi. Since 1947, Pakistani rulers got loans from IMF, World Bank and many other sources. Such loans were not utilised honestly. Current external debt of Pakistan is more than 50 billion dollar. Government has to allocate a big amount for the repayment of loans with interest. So due to less resources for developmental projects there is unemployment. Concluding, I would like to suggest that with proper economic planning, consistent policies of government, better law and order situation, abolishing energy crisis, sincerity with Pakistan and by adopting the Islamic economic system we can not only tackle the issue of unemployment but every economic problem of our country as well. Courtesy: Business Recorder
Unemployment in Pakistan Economy of an individual is at the utmost priority of every democratic as well as welfare state. Since the dawn of human history, individual needs have been prioritized by every human being. These individual needs can be met by proper sources of employment. After the transformation of the world from a feudal to an industrial society, the needs of an individual have risen sharply, giving due importance to finance.In Pakistan, due to gigantic rise in population, individual finances have been disturbed a lot. This is because of rising unemployment. The major cause of unemployment in Pakistan are following. The first cause of unemployment or joblessness in Pakistan is worsening law and order situation. Owing to this negative social phenomenon, foreign direct investment is sliding down to the bottom. According to the economic survey of Pakistan, in the current decade FDI was minimum last year. Also investors are loosing confidence in the political and economic system of the country therefore they are reluctant to invest in any new business venture. Resultantly, new jobs are not generating while the job seekers are rising continuously in the country. Secondly, Agriculture is account for the maximum job provision in the country. Agriculture sector is facing severe challenges of water shortage, climatic changes and technological backwardness in recent years. These factors have hit the per acre yield negatively which caused loosing of jobs of several people. In 2009-10, agriculture showed a growth of only 2% against the target of 3.8% while nearly 62% of Pakistan population is living in rural areas, and is directly or indirectly linked with agriculture for their livelihood. Thirdly, Industry is also a heaven for educated as well as semi-educated labour force in the country. Pakistan industry is short listing its labour because of gradual decrease in demand as well as acute energy shortage. Energy shortfall crosses 5500 MW at time causing severe damage to production capacity. Fourthly, World economic depression coupled with American war against Terror has also put negative impacts on our economy. It has not only doubled our expenditures on military front but also defaced Pakistan¶s image in international arena. These factors have put international investment in Pakistan at risk. Therefore, Pakistan is not attracting new investment causing unemployment in the country. Fifthly, United States of America spent 368 billion in 2007 on research and development whereas Pakistan¶s attention towards this sector is the least. By spending on education and research, we can create more specialized fields thus generating more jobs. In the 2010 budget, Pakistan has earmarked only 2% of its GDP on education which is the lowest in whole of the region. Sixthly, Population increase is also a cause of unemployment in Pakistan. Till 2010, Pakistan¶s population is 173.54 million wheras most of the population is unable to survive in the financial race because of illiteracy. In Spite of these factors poor governance, deep rooted corruption,
faulty educational system, lack of quality educational institutions and feudalism are also aggravating the situation further. Finally, we can hold the government responsible for the its poor performance in financial sector. Poor governance have marred the performance of our economic sector by every side and government has taken only cosmetic measures to redress the problem. Dr. Ishrat Hussain suggestions to improve the governance have been put on the backburner.
Unemployment is a central problem of Pakistan because when unemployment is high, resources are wasted and people's incomes are depressed; during such periods, economics distress also spills over to affect people's emotions and family lives. The socio economics system of Pakistan and institutions has failed to provide employment to the increasing labor force. Labor force include all persons who are of ten years and above , and during the period are without work, currently available for work and seeking for work. About 2.4 million persons of labor force were estimated as unemployed in 1999, as construction and transport sectors have an absorbed 11.2 percent, 6.8 and 5.7 percent as compared to 10.5percent, 7.2 and 5.0 percent respectively in 1994-1995. Major Causes of Unemployment: 1. Employment in the private sector absolutely stopped because they shifted their capital to other countries because of nationalization of industrial units badly affected the investment industrial sector. 2. The higher growth rate of population is the major cause of unemployment in Pakistan. The resources of the country are limited because population has exceeded the optimum level. 3. Karachi is the biggest industrial base of Pakistan, but investors are reluctant to invest there because of unrest and violence. 4. Our educational system is also responsible for increasing unemployment rate among the educated youth. The attitude of our youth towards the choice of a career is unrealistic and unproductive. Rapid mechanization and computer technology also causing unemployment. 5. Lack of infrastructure and facilities in the field of energy, telecommunication and transportation also prevent the industrialist from setting up new industries. 6. Lack of enough industries to employ ever increasing number of graduate in Pakistan 7. The government is not involving in capital expenditures which create more jobs. 8. Main issue of unemployment in our country is that when ever a new technology comes as software or hardware then all the people starts studying about that. Then at the end, you will see ten thousand students of a particular field about 5 to 10 job vacancies. 9. Things are not handled in appropriate manner, as the vacancies are less but job seekers are more than that. 10. Opportunities are not enough and system of reference is so much indulged in our society that if a company needs employees then workers of that company will provide some resume to them of their relatives and friends so in this way many people don't get the opportunity to apply for those jobs.
Suggestions: 1. Economic Revival package should announce by the government for the revival of industries sector, to stimulate production and investment. 2. Government should try to boost exports through broadening the tax base and lowering tariffs.
3. Government should announce multiple packages for the development of agriculture sector. 4. A number of fiscal and monetary measures should take attract industrialists and particularly foreign investment. 5. Technical training facilities should be provided. In this way unemployed people will get a chance to enhance their skills and become able to earn more reason able income. But as these days software companies are growing and new companies are starting their business very rapidly so, I hope ratio of unemployment will become low soon.
