Special Correspondent :
The labour market for Bangladeshi workers abroad is shrinking due to the global economic crisis, instability in the Middle East due to the Gaza war and the Ukraine war, the shrinking of global markets, high inflation, and a lack of skilled manpower, according to an updated report by the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET).
The report further articulated that the labour market has increased in the last two years, however has been a slight decrease in sending Bangladeshi workers abroad in the first three months of this year.
On the other hand, the Malaysian government has suspended recruiting Bangladeshi workers to their country at the moment, which is a big market for Bangladeshi workers.
However, the entrepreneurs of the manpower exporting sector do not think that the matter is unusual.
Bangladesh’s migrant workers sent home $21.82 billion in remittances in the last calendar year, an increase of only 2.54 percent year on year, mainly due to the gap in the US dollar rate between formal and informal channels.
The remittance earnings were $21.28 billion in 2022 and $21.74 billion in 2021, according to data from the Bangladesh Bank, providing context on remittance trends over recent years.
However, Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali told the parliament that from July to January of the current financial year (2023–24), the country received some $12.9 billion in remittances. Of the amount, $2,425.58 million came from the United Arab Emirates, $1,610.38 million from the United Kingdom, $1601.22 million from Saudi Arabia, $1332.63 million from the United States, and $900.26 million from Italy.
According to the BMET’s latest data, a total of 2,36,837 Bangladeshi migrant workers went abroad for work between January and March this year. About 78,945 workers left the country for abroad on average in the last three months, providing statistics on recent overseas employment trends.
A total of 13,05,453 Bangladeshi workers went abroad for work legally in the last year, while 1,08,787 left the country per month this year. In the previous year, 2022, a total of 94,656 people went abroad every month, BMET sources said.
In 2021, some 6,17,207 migrant workers went abroad for jobs through legal channels, according to the BMET.
“We don’t think it is unusual to see the Bangladeshi labour market decrease in the first three months of this calendar year. We hope and believe that the export of manpower will increase by the end of this year,” expressed President of Bangladesh Associations of Recruitment Agencies (BAIRA) Abul Bashar, indicating optimism for a rebound in overseas employment.
“The main labour market for Bangladeshi workers is Saudi Arabia,” he said, underscoring a key destination for Bangladeshi migrant labourers.
“Some countries, including Saudi Arabia, pay relatively low wages to Bangladeshi workers,” he added.
“The relevant authorities are engaged in discussions with manpower-importing countries to increase the wages of Bangladeshi workers,” Abul Bashar said in reply to a query.
He said, “Workers are being sent now to those countries where wages are very low. So, employment abroad has not been at the same rate as in the last two years. This problem will be solved by the end of this year.”
Abul Bashar also said that the Malaysian government’s decision to ban Bangladeshi workers, the BAIRA President said, is one of the reasons for the decrease in numbers of Bangladeshi workers going abroad in the first three months of this year compared to last year.
“So far, the main labour market for Bangladeshi workers is Saudi Arabia, and mostly unskilled workers go to Saudi Arabia.”
“A decline in manpower exports in Saudi Arabia affects the total manpower exports, and even this is not fulfilled if workers go to other countries in search of work too. So, the Saudi market is important for the manpower exporting sector,” added the official.
“According to BMET data, this time the export of manpower to Brunei has not started yet, while 1,000 to 1,800 Bangladeshi workers were exported to that country in the last two years.”
“Some 5,500 and 1,200 manpower were exported to Mauritania, respectively, in the last two years, but this time, no manpower was exported there in the last three months. Apart from it, exports of manpower also declined to the UK, Italy, and South Korea markets too.”
According to BMET data, the total manpower exported to Saudi Arabia was 1,35,435 workers in January-March, which is 57 percent of the total manpower export in three months,” providing statistics on the significance of Saudi Arabia as a destination for Bangladeshi workers.
At the same time, 22,760 workers entered the United Arab Emirates, which is 9.61 percent, the second-highest exporter of manpower in Bangladesh, added the data.
