Bangladesh had nearly 9 lakh unemployed graduates in 2024, with the jobless rate among tertiary-educated individuals rising slightly to 13.5%, according to the final Labour Force Survey released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Although the share of unemployed graduates increased from 13.11% in 2023, the absolute number fell by 20,000 to 8.85 lakh. More than one in five of them were women. The national unemployment rate stood at 4.48% last year.

The survey also showed an increase in joblessness among less-educated youths. Unemployment among those with education below the secondary level increased by over 1 lakh to 5.07 lakh, with the rate in this group rising by 0.51 percentage points.

Economist Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, described the situation as “far from satisfactory”. She noted that job opportunities in both public and private sectors had failed to expand as expected.

“The only real source of jobs is the government, and even there opportunities are limited. Under these conditions, employment growth cannot realistically be expected,” she said.

Khatun added that while some economic indicators have stabilised through efforts to curb inflation and shore up reserves, investment has remained stagnant.

“GDP growth figures are misleading without increased private and foreign investment. Production has also been hit by factory shutdowns and disruptions,” she said, warning that high borrowing costs, weak infrastructure, and corruption continue to deter business expansion.