Strategies to address Covid-19 induced labour market challenges

Covid-19 deeply affected the labour market in Bangladesh. It intensified some of the existing challenges and brought about a new set of problems. A large number of people either lost employment or income and many are also experiencing intense job insecurity and uncertainty.

The labour market was facing several challenges even before Covid-19. Though the Bangladesh economy has undergone significant structural changes over the last five decades, agriculture still holds the largest share of total employment. Despite high economic growth, there has been slow growth in job creation in recent years. With the changing nature of manufacturing and services sectors—leaning towards automation—job creation in these sectors remains a big challenge. Furthermore, the share of informal employment in total employment in Bangladesh remains well above 85 percent, which is an immense challenge to making significant headway in ensuring decent jobs.