Labour force stands at 7.17cr and 26.2 lakh unemployed as of 2024: Khosru
Agriculture remained the country’s largest employment sector, accounting for 44.67% of total employment, while around 5 crore 4 lakh people were outside the labour force in 2024.
The country's total labour force stood at around 7.17 crore in 2024, with around 6.91 crore people employed and 26.2 lakh unemployed, Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told parliament today (10 September).
The unemployment rate stood at 3.66%, he said.
The minister disclosed the figures while replying to a written question from Kishoreganj-2 lawmaker Advocate Md Jalal Uddin in parliament.
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According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics' Labour Force Survey 2024, agriculture remains the largest employment sector, employing around 3 crore 8.7 lakh people, or 44.67% of total employment.
The industrial sector employs 1 crore 20 lakh people, accounting for 17.37%, while the services sector employs around 2 crore 62.2 lakh, or 37.96% of total employment.
The minister said urban areas had 1 crore 87.4 lakh people in the labour force in 2024, of whom 1 crore 79.2 lakh were employed.
In rural areas, the labour force stood at around 5 crore 11.7 lakh.
He also said around 5 crore 4 lakh people remained outside the labour force in 2024. Of them, 1.203 crore were men and 3.801 crore were women.
