Lack of 'Sifarish' seen as main reason for unemployment

Survey reveals lack of recommendation, lack of national resources, increasing population factors behind joblessness.

ISLAMABAD: Almost half of all Pakistanis (48%) believe lack of Sifarish (recommendation to get a job) to be the basic reason for unemployment. This was revealed in a recent survey conducted by Gilani Research Foundation, Gallup Pakistan.

The result of the survey further revealed that increase in crimes is believed to be the most common consequence of unemployment on the society (53%).

Last of all, 71% of all Pakistanis are of the opinion that unemployment has increased in their respective areas recently.

In the survey, a nationally representative sample of men and women from across the country were asked the following question: "In your opinion what are the basic reasons for unemployment in our country?" 48% said that lack of Sifarish (reference to get a job) was the cause of unemployment, 32% attributed it to lack of national resources, 22% to increasing population, and 21% held economic recession responsible for the prevailing unemployment while 1% gave no response.

In a follow up question, the sample was asked: "What are the effects of unemployment on our society?" 53% stated that unemployment increases crimes, 41% believed it increases poverty, 32% said it causes unrest, 11% mentioned that this forces people to look for employment abroad and another 11% stated that it causes delay in marriages. 1% gave no response.

In another follow up question, the sample was asked the following question: "In your opinion has the unemployment in your area recently increased, decreased or remained the same?" 71% were of the opinion that unemployment had increased, 14% said it had decreased and 14% said it had remained the same in their area. 1% gave no response.

The recent survey was carried out among a sample of 2604 men and women in the rural and urban areas of all four provinces of the country, during September 2010. The error margin is estimated to be approximately + 2-3 per cent at 95% confidence level.