10m new jobs in five years

The government predicts that over 10 million new jobs will be created in the economy due to accelerated growth in manufacturing, construction and service sectors during the Sixth Five Year Plan (SFYP) period spanning 2011-2015.
Growth in the services sector is expected to create more than half of the total new employment opportunities. Nearly three million will come from the expansion of manufacturing and a million in the construction sector.
The prediction has been made in the draft of the SFYP 2011-2015, said Prof Shamsul Alam, member of the Planning Commission, at a programme yesterday.
The SFYP forecasts that the new opportunities in non-farm sectors will enable a large number of people to shift from agriculture, which is often called a place for disguised unemployed people.
The prediction about the new job opportunities, especially in the industrial sector, however, drew doubts from economist Mahabub Hossain, who called the projection 'too ambitious'.
“It's a big challenge. For this, the sector will need to grow by 13 percent from the present 6.4 percent a year,'' said Hossain, former director general of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).
His remarks came at a discussion on unemployment problems of the educated youths, at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.
According to Hossain, also executive director of NGO BRAC, there exist opportunities of creating more jobs. ''Agriculture is quite a vibrant sector now,'' he said, adding that it has created demand for products and services in the domestic economy.
''Time has come for industrialisation targeting domestic economy. If we can do it, employment opportunities will rise,'' he said.
The government is framing the SFYP targeting higher economic growth to address unemployment at a time when 2.1 million youths enter the job market every year. The number of really jobless people will be higher if the jobless rate is considered.
Discussants said unemployment of educated youths is a major issue, which needs to be addressed to avoid social crises.
Bangladesh Economic Association and Dhaka School of Economics organised the programme as an activity under Bangladesh Social Economic Forum 2011. Prof Alauddin Ahmed, prime minister's adviser on education, also spoke.
Alam of Planning Commission said accelerated growth of manufacturing and services sectors along with construction will help absorb 9.2 million new entrants to the job market in 2011-2015. More people will get jobs aboard, he added.
To achieve the target, Alam said the SFYP will focus on creating job opportunities in rural areas and wage labour industries, providing credit and training for self-employment.
It also eyes promoting subcontracting arrangements between big, small and medium industries and providing specialised training to support more skilled people getting jobs abroad, added Alam.
“We will have to modernise our education for enhancing productivity,” he said, adding the SFYP aims to create facilities to help the private sector flourish. There is vast scope for new job openings if the private sector grows, he added.