The Monsoon Revolution in July and August of 2024 was rooted on the issue of jobs. Students thought the quota system was exploitative and discriminatory and they fought to abolish it.
The fight for jobs however stretches much wider and much deeper in Bangladesh.
According to newspapers, there were at least five waves of unrest in the RMG factories in Bangladesh on issues related to unpaid wages and bonuses, layoffs, and suspensions and annual wage increment. In the pre-election opinion polls, voters have consistently identified job creation as a key expectation from the next elected government.
In Innovision’s People’s Election Pulse Survey in September 2025, it ranked as number three priority expectation with 42.4% of the respondents identifying it as one of the top three priority expectations from the future elected government. In the IRI survey published in November 2025, ‘unemployment’ ranked at number 4 among the single most important problems in Bangladesh.
Clearly and surely, the next election should be about jobs. It should take the centre stage in the party manifestos not merely because it may translate to votes but because if the next elected government is not able to deliver jobs, it will be in trouble.
The hard reality
The Labour Force Survey 2024 of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) reveals some grim realities:
- Overall unemployment in Bangladesh stands at 2.66 million.
- Underemployment affects an additional 10 million people, working below their qualifications or aspirations.
- Graduate unemployment is particularly high at 16.5%, compared to 1.25% for those without formal education.
- Youth unemployment (ages 15–29) affects nearly 2 million young people.
- Female labour force participation declined sharply, from 2.53 crore in 2023 to 2.37 crore in 2024.
- Informal employment continues to dominate, with 84% of employed people (5.8 crore) in informal jobs.
Furthermore, the youth unemployment rate stood at 11.46% in 2024, but among tertiary-level graduates, it surged to 13.5%. This is a paradox where higher education correlates with higher unemployment. It potentially suggests the mismatch between the skills produced by our universities and the demands of the market.
Inclusion matters: Gender disparity adds to the complexity
Data from International Labour Organization (ILO) highlights a staggering rate of youth that are ‘Not in Employment, Education, or Training’ (NEET), which hovered around 30.9% in 2024 with a strong gender divide (male: 11.1 %; female: 49.3% female).
According to BBS, between 2023 and 2024, the total female labour force shrank from 25.3 million to 23.7 million; women accounted for most of the overall labour force contraction.
Besides, 96.6% of all females in the labour force are reported to be in informal jobs. According to the National Survey on People with Disability (2021), around 33-34% of working-age persons with disabilities (PWDs) are employed, with significantly higher male participation (47.59%) than female (12.80%).
This means the women’s woes are even deeper within the marginalized section of people with disabilities. For Bangladesh, to move forward, we do not only need job-rich growth, we need inclusive job-rich growth.
Global and local economic shifts could make ‘jobs’ dearer
Despite the fear of US tariff rate changes, the RMG sector continued to grow throughout 2025. In December 2025, the sector recorded an 18% year on year jump. However, much remains uncertain with Bangladesh’s LDC graduation in November 2026.
Private sector investment in Bangladesh has stalled and this has direct implications on job-rich growth. For the full fiscal year (FY) 2024–25 (ending June 2025), private investment was reported at 22.48% of GDP which is a five-year low and is much lower than the government’s target of 27.34% for FY2025.
Private sector credit growth hit 6.35% in August 2025 which is the lowest in the last 22 years. Historically, Bangladesh requires 12-14% credit growth to sustain a robust industrial expansion. Capital machinery import dropped by 25% in 2025. This essentially indicates loss of factory jobs for tomorrow. This will lead to a shift towards informal jobs and informal migration; the fabric of social stability will be challenged.
The government needs to look behind to look ahead
Success in navigating these challenges would depend on conscious choices and cautious but bold steps. The government needs to look behind to assess the pitfalls that should be avoided and it should look ahead with a long-term vision to shift to job-rich growth and to sustain inclusive growth.
How can this be achieved?
- Unlock private investment and growth of SMEs: This should be the priority number one of the next elected government. It should focus on incentivizing manufacturing growth and export diversification. This would in turn require the government to work on its monetary policy and fiscal policy. The government must work to bring back confidence to the banking sector. SME growth can be spurred by opening opportunities to new markets.
Initiatives like allowing PayPal to operate in Bangladesh can immediately crowd in SMEs aiming to target the export market. I have always favoured a market first approach to stimulating industrial growth. This gives the confidence that investments will have guaranteed return. To address the issue of graduate unemployment, we need aspirational jobs. The government must focus on sectors like freelancing and remove systemic barriers related to receiving payments and access to reliable digital infrastructure.
- Invest in migrant workers: The government must invest to support skills development for migrant workers. Focus should shift towards semi-skilled sectors like the care economy. Globally, there is expected to be 300 million jobs in caregiving by 2035.
This will also potentially solve the gender divide in our jobs. Investment in language training can open up markets in Japan or in Europe for drivers, electricians, and other related jobs. We must shift from informal and illegal migration of unskilled workers to semi-skilled and skilled workers.
- Facilitate import substitution: We often talk about export diversification. We do not talk as much on import substitution. By allowing local companies to grow by systematically making imports dearer, we can create thousands of jobs in the electrical and electronics sector, light-engineering, furniture sector, and agro-allied industries.
- Diversify export markets: We must capacitate the high commissions and embassies of Bangladesh to expand our export markets. We must look into new destinations like Africa. Global south-south cooperation will lead the future of development.
- Stimulate FDI; take an eco-system approach: Bangladesh must attract good capital and foreign investment. The start-up eco-system must be supported with a strong eco-system for venture capitals. Investment must be made easy and functional.
The election 2026 will mark a historic event in Bangladesh’s transition towards sustained democracy and reform. The political parties must not wait and waste time. They should build on coalitions and strong international cooperation to stimulate the economy. Political stability will be pivotal and all parties must work together and act together with a concerted effort.
Md Rubaiyath Sarwar is Managing Director, Innovision Consulting.
