Bangladesh needs to focus on creating more and better jobs in export oriented non-readymade garment (RMG) sectors as the pace of creating job opportunities slowed down considerably in the recent years despite robust economic growth, says a World Bank analysis.The country, according to the WB report, needs to proactively address the challenges, starting with the development of a National Jobs Strategy to increase the pace of formal job creation, raise the quality of jobs and connect vulnerable workers to job markets.The issue was discussed elaborately at a workshop in Dhaka on Monday jointly organised by the World Bank and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).The workshop was informed that the growth rate for new jobs slowed down to 1.8 percent during 2010-15 period after growing 2.7 percent annually in 2003-10 period, and has almost stalled in the RMG sector. The participants stressed the need for fixing policy priorities in Jobs Strategy based on findings of the Jobs Diagnostic conducted jointly by the WB and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), highlighting the importance of looking into the jobs agenda in a holistic way. “Addressing jobs requires policies that establish the macro and microeconomic frameworks to stimulate private sector investment, promote education and skills development, and support innovation, urbanization and mobility,” said Rajashree Paralkar, WB’s Acting Country Director“We look forward to the development of a National Jobs Strategy – a comprehensive set of coordinated policy actions that are targeted explicitly toward addressing the jobs priorities,” she added. The country also needs to generate quality jobs and address gender disparities.Only 1 in 5 workers are women employed in wage work. Further, 1 in 3 working women, as opposed to 5 percent of working men, are engaged in upaid work.International migration has been a way for many Bangladeshis to seek better paying jobs in spite of costs and risks to worker safety, the workshop also discussed. “To promoter large-scale job creation, Bangladesh must accelerate productivity growth; diversify manufacturing and services sectors, with a focus on increasing exports and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI); and facilitate urbanization,” said Thomas Farole, the lead author of the World Bank Jobs Diagnostic.“Connecting vulnerable workers to jobs and reducing barriers to female labor force participation will also be critical for better job opportunities in the private sector,” he also said. The panelists welcomed the development of a jobs strategy, and emphasized the importance of continued growth in RMG and other manufacturing sectors, foreign direct investment, female labor market activities, among others. ILO also presented the findings of the Employment Diagnostic jointly done by ILO and Asian Development Bank (ADB).Prof. Dr. Shamsul Alam, Member, General Economics Division (GED) chaired the workshop co-hosted by the ministry of planning and the ministry of labour and employment.
