H. M. Nazmul Alam :
Unemployment in Bangladesh has long been treated as a silent shadow, an afterthought buried beneath the triumphant claims of growth and development. Yet the shadow is lengthening, threatening to eclipse not only the nation’s economy but also its fragile social fabric.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) claims that only 2.62 million people are unemployed in a country of 180 million.
On paper, the problem looks manageable. In reality, the crisis is far deeper, more corrosive, and more dangerous than these carefully polished numbers suggest.
A closer look at the Labor Force Survey 2024 reveals an uncomfortable truth. The number of unemployed has grown by 160,000 in a year, climbing to 262,000 at the end of 2024 from 246,000 in 2023.
Of these, nearly 14 percent have a bachelor’s degree, and over 7 percent have passed higher secondary. Even more alarming, 29 percent of unemployed youth aged 15–29 are university graduates. These numbers do not merely represent individual failures to secure work.
They represent the failure of a system that continues to churn out degrees without relevance, opportunities without accessibility, and statistics without credibility.
The BBS insists on following the International Labor Organization’s rigid definition of unemployment, which excludes anyone who works even one hour a week in exchange for wages. By this definition, a youth who tutors for an hour or raises poultry for subsistence is considered employed.
This distortion erases the lived reality of millions who are underemployed, who cannot sustain themselves or their families on such meager activity.
Unlike developed nations, Bangladesh does not provide unemployment allowances or social protections that allow individuals to survive in between jobs. To apply the same standard in this context is not just misleading, it is misleading by design.
The unemployment problem, however, cannot be explained away merely as a statistical sleight of hand. At its core lies a mismatch between the education system and the labor market.
Higher education has expanded rapidly, yet the content remains tethered to outdated notions of degree-based prestige rather than skill-based competence.
Universities emphasize theory while neglecting practice. Graduates leave with certificates but little that prepares them for the expectations of industries and services. The result is a generation of young men and women who find themselves locked out of the labor market despite years of investment in their education.
This dissonance is visible not only in unemployment figures but in the very orientation of young people toward work. An overwhelming share of graduates aspires to civil service or government jobs, a preference rooted in social status, stability, and security.
Yet the government can only create a limited number of posts, with a recruitment process that is drawn-out and discouraging. The private sector, on the other hand, continues to suffer from a lack of prestige, low wages, and poor working conditions.
The decline in investment has further worsened the situation.
High interest rates, imposed to curb inflation, have raised the cost of capital and stifled expansion. Investment in new industries has slowed, and with it, the creation of fresh jobs. Meanwhile, the inflated GDP growth figures of previous governments painted a picture of prosperity that was never reflected in employment generation. Economic growth without employment growth is a hollow achievement, and the current crisis reveals just how hollow it is.
The consequences of this failure extend far beyond the economy. Unemployment is not merely an economic indicator; it is a social condition. The frustration of educated youth unable to find work manifests in despair, disillusionment, and social unrest.
It corrodes mental health, pushing many toward depression, substance abuse, and destructive behavior. Families carry the financial and emotional burden of unemployed members, straining household stability. The state, instead of reaping the dividends of a youthful population, risks converting its demographic advantage into a demographic liability.
The economy is not creating jobs at the pace that education is producing graduates. If the country continues to rely on degree-based education without aligning curricula to the needs of the labor market, the gap will only widen. Graduates will continue to emerge every year into a labor market that has no place for them. The result is not only wasted human capital but also rising instability, as unemployed youth turn from hope to anger.
Education must be reoriented toward skills and employability. Universities should not remain isolated from industries; they must forge strong linkages that allow for internships, apprenticeships, and practical learning. Technical and vocational education should be expanded, providing pathways into productive sectors of the economy. Young people should not discover after graduation that their degrees are useless in the real world; they should be equipped from the outset with skills that make them competitive.
The government and the private sector must share responsibility for job creation. Heavy reliance on government employment is unsustainable. Small and medium enterprises, often overlooked, have the potential to create significant jobs if given access to low-interest loans, training programs, and supportive tax policies. Investment in the industrial and manufacturing sectors should be prioritized to absorb the growing labor force. Without such measures, the gap between aspiration and opportunity will only deepen.
Above all, the problem demands honesty. The illusion of prosperity created by inflated statistics serves only to delay meaningful action. To acknowledge the scale of unemployment is not to admit defeat, but to confront reality with the clarity required to solve it. A society that denies its crisis cannot address it. A state that hides behind definitions cannot lead its youth toward employment.
Bangladesh stands at a critical juncture. Its educated youth often called the engine of development, risk becoming a burden rather than a boon. If policies remain stagnant, if investments remain sluggish, if education remains irrelevant, then the demographic dividend will slip away, replaced by instability and wasted potential.
But if the nation recognizes the urgency of aligning education with labor market needs, of incentivizing investment, and of valuing all forms of productive work, then this crisis can be turned into an opportunity.
Unemployment is not just a number in a survey. It is the story of a graduate who cannot find work, a family burdened by financial strain, a society unsettled by discontent. It is the unfulfilled promise of a generation that deserves better. The future of Bangladesh will not be determined by how high its GDP figures climb, but by how many of its young people find meaningful, dignified, and sustainable work.
(The Writer is an Academic, Journalist, and Political Analyst based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
He can be reached at [email protected])
