Recent global economic turmoil created unemployment around the world including Pakistan. Pakistan has 2.93 million people unemployed from the workforce, said the survey.
Agriculture is still the largest employer with 45.1 per cent of the total labour force followed by the manufacturing sector with 13 per cent.
The number of people employed from the total population increased to 50.79 million compared with 49.09 million a year ago.
Punjab employs the largest number of people with 28.97 million of the total followed by Sindh with 12.26 million.
The labour force grew by 3.7 per cent in 2008-09. The growth in female labour force was greater than male labour force.
Pakistan is the 10th largest country in the world according to the size of the labour force.
The past
The unemployment level remained around five per cent post 1993-1999 but in fiscal year 2002 a sharp increase of 8.27 per cent was seen. The rate had fallen during 2003-07.
However, after reaching a low point of 5.2 per cent in fiscal year 2008 it rose again to 5.5 per cent in fiscal year 2009.
The unemployed labour force in youth (15-25 years) was 1.2 million, which was 0.4 million lower than the stock in 2001-02. If the current level of unemployment prevails for the next 20 years, the stock of youth unemployed in 2030 will be around six million.
Poverty declines
Poverty in Pakistan declined to 22.3 per cent during 2005-06 compared with 23.9 per cent a year earlier, according to the head count ratio.
Pakistan had achieved in 2005-06 the 2015 target of halving poverty using 1990s 58.5 per cent as the base line.
The poverty level is 17.2 per cent for fiscal year 2008, but that has started increasing, according to a recent IMF report.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 5th, 2010.
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