Women labour force in decline

The number of unemployed people in the country increased by about 40,000 year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 23.5 lakh as women stepped back from gainful employment.

Between October and December last year, the number of unemployed male workers decreased by 80,000 to 15.7 lakh while the unemployed female workers' count increased by 1.2 lakh to 7.8 lakh, according to the latest quarterly Labour Force Survey of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

During the period, the number of employed females was 2.46 crore, down from 2.53 crore a year earlier.

The total female population outside the labour force -- which are women who are not employed and are not interested in being employed such as housewives -- increased by 14.2 lakh to 3.55 crore.

The survey defined unemployed people as those who sought any types of work for pay or profit in the last 30 days, and did not work at least for an hour in the last seven days although they were ready to be employed. 

One of the reasons for the drop in female labour force participation could be automation in the garment sector, a major employer of the female workforce, said Zahid Hussain, a former lead economist of the World Bank's Dhaka office.

"Jobs that were done by female workers are now done by machines as many garment factories are undergoing automation at present. As a result, the demand for female workers in many factories is declining."

This process started to become visible in 2016 when many female workers from the garment sector started to leave their jobs, Hussain added.

Female workers now account for 57 percent of the garment sector's workforce, down from 80 percent previously, said an official of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

"Now, many female workers are showing reluctance to continue with their jobs once they cross the age of 25 -- they tend to return to their village," he added.

In recent years, non-farm activities in rural areas have increased, which opened up more opportunities for village women to get involved in income-generating activities.

In the last quarter of 2023, the tally of employed people increased by 70,000 year-on-year to 7.11 crore despite a significant decrease in agriculture.

In agriculture, the total employed workforce decreased by 15.8 lakh to 3.17 crore, but the employed workforce in the service sector increased by 11.9 lakh to 2.68 crore in December.

"It is hard to explain how employment has decreased in agriculture. We saw bumper Aman production that time while winter vegetable production was also in its peak season," Hussain said.

The agriculture ministry can conduct a study on how employment has decreased in such a situation, he added.

One reason behind the increase in employment in the service sector could be that there are more online job opportunities for young people both inside and outside the country now, Hussain said.

The employed workforce in the manufacturing sector increased by 4.6 lakh to 1.24 crore in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Subsequently, the unemployment rate in the last quarter of 2023 was 3.2 percent, up from 3.15 percent a year earlier.

Prof Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow at Centre for Policy Dialogue, said  both agriculture and industry sectors are going through mechanisation, which is affecting the female job market. As a result, unemployment among women is rising.

"We need to take necessary steps so that women can gain the required mechanical skills in a quick manner," he added.