Covid-19 has created negative impacts on the livelihood of millions of people in Bangladesh. It is disheartening to note that since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic around 22 lakh people have lost their jobs. Reportedly, Bangladesh's unemployment rate increased by 1.1 per cent to 5.3 per cent in 2020 mainly due to the pandemic. Against this backdrop, it is encouraging to note that the government has devised a scheme to create more than 11.33 million new jobs in the next five years to ensure sustainable economic growth and recovery of losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is necessary to adopt measures that will help
the poor become self-employed to achieve a
dignified life
Unemployment has long been a pressing issue in Bangladesh. Though Bangladesh has achieved remarkable economic growth over the last 10 years, hitherto unemployment is recognised as one of the major problems hindering country's overall development. Moreover, the unemployment rate has increased remarkably due to Covid-19 pandemic. Reports show that currently the number of youths, who are not involved in employment, education and training, is more than 90 lakh. Considering the situation, youths should be encouraged to choose entrepreneurship over jobs and in order to encourage youths to take business as their profession, there is a need to create a supportive atmosphere for the fresher and budding young entrepreneurs and facilitate them with appropriate tools. Needless to say, by creating entrepreneurs we can reduce the pressure on the country’s job markets and reinforce the country’s economic growth.
It needs no emphasising that the global health crisis caused by Covid- 19 has hit Bangladesh's economy hard and jeopardised the country's impressive achievements in poverty reduction and employment generation. More than three million people have become poor in Bangladesh due to impact of Covid-19. Therefore, the government will have to take necessary steps to support them in the coming days and involve them in income-oriented jobs.