INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Pakistan needs 1.3 million additional jobs every year: UNDPISLAMABAD: Pakistan needs to generate 1.3 million
additional jobs on average every year as the plethora of people attaining the working age most likely to rise from the current 4 million to
growth in employment creation is necessary to match the unprecedented number of young people entering the working age.The additional jobs to
be created per year were for the next five years, the report added.The report has clearly indicated that current labour force participation
million or more people of working age will join the labour force every year for the next five years.At the current participation and
unemployment levels and considering the number of retirees, Pakistan needs to create 4.5 million jobs over the next five years (0.9 million
jobs annually).The report suggested that the gradual increase in labour force participation rates means added pressure on the labour market
with increased demand for employment opportunities.The survey of the report believed that job creation has been relatively fast in
Pakistan.A coherent strategy adopted at the provincial and district level across multiple sectors with clear annual targets can help
formal sector, supporting entrepreneurship, building the human capital of youth and active labour market policies are key instruments to
opportunities that are high in quality and offering a larger number of jobs that do not meet quality conditions.The report recommended that
complete concentration on quality and not on creating enough jobs would be equally problematic while failure to produce additional
employment opportunities could lead to 43 million people being unemployed by 2050
every year for the next 30 years, without interruption, even to maintain unemployment at the current levels.It is also clear that the
source of employment (42.3 percent), has immense potential for employment generation at both the farm and non-farm levels.However, suffering
from declining shares in the national GDP and low productivity, this sector will require the right set of investments and policy reforms to
improve.Apart from reforms in the traditional farming sector, rural enterprise development has significant potential for employment
total employed labour force despite being hindered by energy shortages and the poor law and order situation.The services industry, currently
sub-sectors function at a far lower rate than their capacity.The hospitality sector, accommodation and food, directly linked to tourism,
supported and promoted with a clear policy direction for employment generation.Sub-sectors of this industry, finance and insurance services,
percent.Increasing economic activities and improving access to finance and technology would encourage significant growth and employment
creation in these sectors.Overall, with the rapidly growing services sector becoming a major source of jobs in the country, Pakistan must
ensure that this sector provides the young with a chance at long-term career progression.According to estimates by International Labour
Organization (ILO), unemployment between the ages of 15 and 24 in Pakistan is 10.8 percent.This is higher than other countries in the
region, like India, Bangladesh and Nepal although better than Sri Lanka.The report claimed that developing a clear strategy focused on
employment generation and implementation is the first step in the necessary task of creating 0.9 million jobs a year in the country of close
