Millions of young Bangladeshis left jobless

The World Bank will intensify its support for large-scale job creation in Bangladesh, particularly for young people, the organisation’s Vice President for South Asia, Johannes Zutt, has said.

Speaking at the conclusion of a three-day visit to the country, Zutt highlighted the government’s strong focus on expanding employment opportunities alongside improving skills and attracting investment.

“The government places a high priority on large-scale job creation, alongside skills and investment, and the World Bank Group shares this commitment,” he said. “In this context, we are stepping up our focus on supporting the government priority of creating jobs, notably for youth and women.”

During his visit, Zutt held meetings with senior government officials, including the Finance and Planning Minister, the Commerce Minister, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance and Planning, and the Governor of Bangladesh Bank.

He also met representatives from civil society to discuss Bangladesh’s development priorities and areas of cooperation with the World Bank.

Highlighting the growing pressure on the labour market, Zutt noted that over the past decade around 14 million young people entered the workforce, while only 8.7 million jobs were created.

“This means nearly half of working-age youth did not find jobs,” he said, adding that young women face particularly steep barriers in accessing employment.

Zutt emphasised the urgency of implementing long-pending macroeconomic and financial sector reforms to remove bottlenecks to economic growth and job creation.

He noted that the World Bank supports investment in physical and human infrastructure, promotes a business-friendly environment, and mobilises private capital to accelerate large-scale job creation.