Due to the severe economic crunch we are currently facing, unemployment is constantly on the rise. According to a recent research report by Gallup Pakistan and PIDE, youth unemployment in Punjab stands at 6.69%. The findings show that the unemployment rate among females is higher than that among males, standing at 8.32% and 6.06%, respectively.

Further, in urban areas the unemployment rate is higher – 7.94% — as compared to 6.11% in rural areas. Division-wise figures show wide variations in youth unemployment — ranging from 4.45% in Bahawalpur division to 17.78% in Rawalpindi division.

The highest unemployment rate of 20.01% has been found among youth with matric or below intermediate education. An alarming finding from the research is that over 23% of unemployed female youth in Punjab hold a Master’s degree, a figure which is seven times higher than that of unemployed males with the same level of education. This is a glaring example of gender disparity in the country’s employment distribution system.

A matter of particular concern is the higher unemployment rate among educated youth compared to their less educated counterparts. This underlines the fact that our education system is not oriented to the needs of the country’s industrial, agriculture and service sectors, and completely divorced from the labour market dynamics in different regions.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in 2021 showed an increase in unemployment, with the educated youth more likely to face difficulties in finding a job. One of the factors underlying this trend is underemployment. This means that people with good education and skills are forced to take low-paying jobs due to an unavailability of jobs that suit their skillset.

An earlier report by PIDE revealed that a surprisingly large part of the working-age group is not even part of the labour force. These people are either job-loss workers or have other means of income to support them. The report further revealed that despite numerous pronouncements and policy initiatives, the female labour force participation rate (LFPR) remains abysmally low.

Also concerning is the fact that the unemployment rate is the highest among the young entrants in the labour force. Over 31 per cent of the youth with degrees, including professional ones, are unemployed with females at 51 per cent and males at 16 per cent. Rural graduate unemployment is much higher than urban, which raises the issue of lack of mobility.

Needless to say, among the many challenges facing Pakistan on the economic front, youth unemployment is the most formidable. It not only affects the country’s economic progress but also results in brain drain which impoverishes a nation intellectually.

The harsh fact is that the issue of employment generation and job creation has always been overlooked in short and long term policy making.The general perception is that public employment provides opportunities for better-paid jobs in Pakistan. But government jobs are few in number.

The worldwide experience is that the private sector offers a sustainable solution to job creation. To this end it is necessary that a suitable environment is provided to the private sector so that it can grow and generate new job opportunities. An urgent need in this connection is to remove infrastructural and regulatory obstacles that stand in the way of rapid growth of private industry.These include power outages, inadequate investment in research and development and political instability.

Another inhibiting factor is the skills mismatch which prevents the youth of the country from engaging in gainful employment. It is no secret that a large number of youth lack access to quality education and skills required to get a suitable job in a competitive market. This calls for combining formal education with internship programmes and on-the-job training so that educated youth are suitably prepared to enter the practical field of life. For this purpose relevant government officials in collaboration with representatives of commerce and industry should design and develop a new curriculum of studies which enhances the employability of coming generations.

Over the last few decades, the services sector has developed to become the largest employer with retail and wholesale trade the largest segment in the urban areas, while the agriculture and livestock sector provides employment to a majority of people in rural areas.

Sixty-four percent of the country’s population is under the age of 30. There is a  youth bulge which, if not channeled in the right direction, may lead to unforeseen consequences for the state.The issue of rampant unemployment among the youth, both educated and uneducated, must be solved on a priority basis;otherwise it will cause social unrest and fuel criminal and terrorist activities in the country.