The Bangladesh economy needs to grow at 8.0 per cent rate to absorb the existing labour force which has been surplus for the last 15 years, an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-International Labour Organisation (ILO) report said Thursday. “Absorption of surplus labour would be possible only when GDP growth exceeds 6.5 per cent a year. But to fully absorb the surplus labour in the economy of about 15 years, an annual GDP growth of 8.0 per cent would be required unless development strategy is changed substantially and the pattern of growth is made more employment-intensive,” said the report. The ADB and the ILO jointly prepared the ‘Bangladesh employment diagnostic study (BEDS): Looking beyond garments’. It was launched at a ceremony in Dhaka Thursday. Mr Rizwanul Islam, lead research consultant of the diagnostic report, presented it before nearly 100 researchers, businessmen, economists and media representatives. The Manila-based lender also unveiled its newly prepared ‘Bangladesh country diagnostic study (BCDS): Consolidating export-led growth’ report at the same ceremony. ADB’s Senior Economist Ms Valerie Mercer-Blackman presented the study report. About Bangladesh’s labour market, the ADB-ILO report said, “It appears from the projections that if 1.81 million jobs per year are taken as the minimum target (as noted, to absorb new entrants into the labour force), GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth of 6.5 per cent a year would be adequate.” “However, with economic growth remaining at that level, the labour market will remain at its present state with a large proportion of workers underemployed and poor even though working. Absorption of surplus labour can start only when economic growth exceeds 6.5 per cent,” the report said. It added, “Even growth of 7.4 per cent (the average annual growth projected at the Seventh Five-Year Plan) will be inadequate to absorb all the surplus labour in about 15 years.” The ADB-ILO diagnostic report suggested an alternative approach to change development strategy and go for a more employment-intensive pattern of growth. About overseas jobs, the BCDS said Bangladesh exports ‘low level skilled manpower’ while imports ‘middle level management’ from overseas. Low level of quality education and weak labour productivity are the major challenges for the employment market in Bangladesh, it said. The country diagnostic report also underlined a challenge for female labour participation in the employment market as it declined over the period of 2010-2013 from an increasing trend in the past years. Meanwhile, the BCDS said improved infrastructure and a more diversified economy can help Bangladesh increase economic growth, create meaningful jobs, and enhance the country’s structural transformation as a thriving middle-income economy. The report strongly supported diversification of Bangladesh’s export basket with a plea to ‘eliminate anti-export bias against non-RMG (ready-made garment) to get traction on economic diversification with laying highest priority.” Discussing on the country diagnostic studies, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Syed Nasim Manzur said the Bangladesh government’s biasness only on the RMG sector is one of the obstacles on the way to diversify exports. “The government allows the local RMG exporters to import fire-fighting equipment for their industrial uses at zero import duty. On the other hand, it imposes 65 per cent import duty on the same product for the non-RMG exporters. So you can easily judge the government’s response to export diversification,” he said. Selima Ahmed, President of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Bangladesh has serious lack of skilled manpower. “As a human resource chief in my business enterprise, I take interview of entrants to the jobs. In most of the cases, I do not find manpower as per requirement for my enterprises. Bangladesh lacks skilled manpower,” she said. Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Begum Shamsun Nahar explained the government’s initiative over betterment of overseas job-seekers in Bangladesh and creation of technically-skilled manpower. Discussing the BCDS, Member of the General Economics Division (GED) Prof Shamsul Alam said it is a big question that although Bangladesh has adequate foreign exchange reserve and huge liquidity in the commercial banks, adequate investment is not taking place. He opined that there is insufficient public finance management in Bangladesh. “I think, security of capital in Bangladesh is another problem. I wonder why there is capital flight from here. Please help the government with adequate research on this issue,” he said. He urged the development partners including the ADB to set up a ‘product networking’ in a bid to share available items to manufacture a complete product. Among others, ADB Country Director in Bangladesh Kazuhiko Higuchi also spoke on the occasion.
