The rising unemployment rate among the young population has given way to increasing various socioeconomic issues in Pakistan. The youth either lack technocratic education or do not have adequate platforms to utilize their skills. As a result, even the talented ones are underpaid, struggling to steer through the current economic crisis. If not tackled wisely, the country may experience a massive brain drain and a sessile economy.
Against the backdrop of recent floods, an ongoing foreign exchange crisis, and rising inflation, the Pakistani youth has been hit hard by massive unemployment. Sixty-four percent of the country’s population is under the age of 30. There is a noticeable youth bulge, which, if it is not addressed, will have serious effects on the state, society, and economy, further exacerbating the hopelessness, despair, and misery now afflicting the nation.
The skills mismatch widespread among 18 to 25-year-olds in Pakistan is probably one of the main causes of youth unemployment, which is a burden Pakistan must shoulder. Many young people do not have access to high-quality education or the skills needed to find and keep jobs in a highly competitive economy. Due to a lack of relevant and market-driven skills, Pakistan is losing almost an entire generation. The need for better skills renders many unskilled people obsolete, forcing them to live in poverty. Unskilled, illiterate workers put in long hours of labor with inflated hopes for their careers since they know they won’t get very far without even the most basic abilities.
According to the recent report of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), one-third of Pakistani youth are unemployed. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) released the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in 2021, which revealed an increase in unemployment, with educated young being more likely to have trouble obtaining employment. Underemployment or the forced acceptance of low-paying work by people indicates that strong educational background may not be of use as there aren’t any positions available that match their qualifications, which is one of the driving forces behind this trend. The large number of applications received for positions similar to those being offered by the Islamabad police force indicates this. More than 30,000 male and female candidates from all over Pakistan gathered in the capital on December 31, 2022, to take a written exam for the position of constable (BS-07) in the Islamabad police force, though there were only 1,667 vacancies available.
The rising unemployment rate provides organized crime groups and feudal lords with a chance to prey on young people. They are forced to perform unlawful and unethical labor after being purchased as slaves from underdeveloped regions. Young people were made to beg at traffic lights by organized crime organizations, and young women and girls were coerced into the prostitute trade. The young people are also forced to work in dangerous locations as bonded laborers by feudal lords. For instance, the death of the labor force at the coal mines of the lords and sardars of Balochistan is occasionally covered in the print and electronic media, with the causes given as noxious gas, mine collapse, and lack of safety gear for workers.
Seeing no opportunity for employment amidst the rising inflation and unemployment, the energetic youth also get involved in street crimes such as snatching mobile phones and other valuables. They face the pressure of society and their peers to match their standards as well as face family pressure to fulfill their basic needs. In these circumstances, they go out and snatch people at gun-point, creating fear among other citizens. Similarly, violent non-state actors (VNSAs) like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and others may be able to attract recruits, as has previously happened. Youth who are easily misled in madrassahs and on social media are drawn to terrorism because they feel powerful and respected when they own weapons like the AK-47.
According to predictions made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan’s unemployment and inflation rates will rise this fiscal year. The unemployment rate, which fell to 6.2% in FY 2022, is anticipated to increase to 6.4% in FY 2023. By the conclusion of FY 2023, the World Bank expects Pakistan’s economy to have grown by only 2%. Hence, despite efforts, we would not achieve much in the fiscal domain, and on top of that, if the ticking time bomb of youth bulge hovers over our heads, one could expect a dire collapse of the economic landscape.
Studies also suggest that gender discrimination and underutilization of the female workforce have led to an unstable economy. The projections made in the International Labor Organization’s Global Wage Report for 2020 are also pessimistic. The average salary of a Pakistani woman is 16.3% lower than that of a man, with a 34% gender pay disparity between the sexes. Only 22.63% of workers in Pakistan are women, and of the 5.26 million people employed in the informal sector, 81% are female. Even among educated women in Pakistan, there is a higher unemployment rate and a low participation rate in the labor field.
Besides, unemployment has raised cases of violence against women. As unemployment and inflation strike together, women become a way to take out all the frustration. They have to bear the frustration and anger of the male members of the family due to unemployment, inflation, and congested small spaces. Similarly, working women are also getting fired. These jobs not only give the women financial independency but also protection against violence as half of the time they are at their workplace.
The government must lower inflation and currency depreciation, rein in population growth, and educate the youth in technical skills to lower the unemployment rate and its effects. The suspended and closed enterprises will resume operations, reviving employment, as inflation is reduced and the currency is stabilized. Additionally, because of the decline in prices and the rise in opportunities, youth will experience less stress. Pakistan should also manage its population.
A large disparity between resources and population exists because the state is unable to keep up with the rate of population growth. To do this, the state must learn from the population-controlling strategies of Iran and Bangladesh. While the latter employed clergy to spread its message, the former conducted a successful door-to-door planning effort.
Empowering the female workforce and increasing its number is yet another herculean task for the government, but once it is done, the economy could experience remarkable progress.
The prevailing environment amidst inflation and uncertainty highly discourages people to initiate their ventures. Startups, private entities, and individual services should be encouraged and provided with a conducive environment. Unless we do not have more creators, entrepreneurs, and versatile freelancers, the capital can neither flow nor be acquired.
Lastly, the current economic climate necessitates innovative solutions, such as a stronger focus on the gig economy, and calls for a healthy start-up ecosystem driven by technology and services to create more jobs and address the unemployment problem. Technical skills need to be provided to the young, active youth to improve their career prospects. To be able to send the increased skilled workforce abroad, the state must prioritize technical training just as much as it does formal education.
Elsa Imdad is a USG Alumna. She holds a bachelors in modern languages with an English major and Spanish minor. She has previously been part of American Spaces in Pakistan and now works as a Project Coordinator at the Center for Research and Security Studies. She is also a weekly contributor for Matrix. Her interests include public diplomacy, language teaching, peace and conflict resolution, capacity building for marginalized groups, etc.
Abbas Raza works at the Center for Research and Security Studies. He holds a Masters’s in Criminology and has done professional courses in Global Diplomacy, International Security Management, and Counter-Terrorism. His interest lies in crime prevention, diplomacy, security management, and counter-terrorism.
