Jobless rate : Unemployment highest in Punjab

ISLAMABAD: The unemployment rate in Punjab is the highest compared to other provinces, while Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa witnessed a fall in unemployment. According to a statistics division official, the number of unemployed people in Sindh has increased from 0.44 million in 2008-09 to 0.70 million in 2010-11 and the number of unemployed people in Balochistan increased from 0.06 million in 2008-09 to 0.07 million in 2010-11. In Punjab unemployment witnessed a significant rise; 1.79 million unemployed in 2008-09 which peaked 2.10 million in 2010-11. The official said that in rural areas unemployment rate has decreased from 4.8% in 2009-10 to 4.7% in 2010-11 due to supportive polices of government. To a question, he said unemployment rate in urban areas has increased from 7.2% in 2009-10 to 8.8% in 2010-11.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2012.