Unemployment is a major issue in Pakistan, particularly among youth. The unemployment rate increased to 6.5% nationally in 2011, with rates even higher in urban areas at 10.1%. There are currently over 3 million unemployed people in Pakistan out of a labor force of over 54 million. Major causes of unemployment include a low industrial growth rate, high population growth, lack of technical education, and political instability which discourages investment. The government has implemented some programs to address unemployment such as skills training councils and small business loans, but unemployment remains a significant problem in Pakistan.

1. Youth Unemployment in
Pakistan
BY:
Waqas Nawaz
Waqas_nawaz729@yahoo.com

2. UNEMPLOYMENT
Workless people can always be dangerous to a country’s
security.
• The frustrated youth of the country is falling a prey to drugaddiction, violence, theft, and many other social evils.
Smugglers, drug-traffickers and terrorists are engaging them
in heinous activities.
• A Working Definition of Unemployment:
“People able, available and willing to find work and actively
seeking work – but not employed”

3. UNEMPLOYMENT IN PAKISTAN
 Unemployment is one of the major issues confronted by our
youth today. Every year many new graduates are added into
the labor force but few of them get very good jobs; some
others get a reasonable one but many keep on looking for
jobs for a long time.
 Recently, the unemployment rate of Pakistan increased to
6.5% and so it can be said that one out of every 10 people of
the country are suffering from unemployment.
 The unemployment rate in urban areas of Pakistan increased
by 2% to 10.1%, whereas, the unemployment rate in rural
areas increased from 4.3% to 5%.

4.  According to Economic Survey of 2010-11, population of
Pakistan is 177.1 million. Total labor force is about 54.92 million
out of which 51.87 million is employed and remaining 3.05 million
is unemployed. Rate of male unemployment is 5.6 % and female
unemployment is 9.3 %.
 You will find so many graduates, master students, engineers and
people of every profession being wasted due to unstable
employment system in Pakistan
 Not only educated people of Pakistan, but also the labor class is
going through a rough phase and their daily life has become a
living hell for them

5. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN
PAKISTAN
1998
1999
2000
2001
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
7
6
6.3
7.8
7.8
7.7
8.3
6.6
6.5
7.4
14
15
5.6
6.5

6. SUICIDES CASES BY UNEMPLOYMENT
• Over the same period, 1,160 cases of attempted suicide
were reported. According to the report;
469 people committed suicide for domestic reasons
136 because they were unemployed
193 over disputes within families
74 over the rejection of marriage proposals
85 after fights with parents
97 because of poverty
159 for other reasons.

7. MAJOR CAUSES OF
UNEMPLOYMENT IN PAKISTAN
• The causes are endless and countless. But the major causes
of unemployment in Pakistan are as follows:1. Economic Causes
2. Social Causes
3. Financial Causes

8. ECONOMIC CAUSES
• Low Industrial Growth Rate
Low industrial growth rate is 1.7 % in Pakistan. Number of
industries is not increasing in Pakistan. Lack of industries
means less opportunities of employment.
• Mechanization of Agriculture
Due to mechanization of agriculture there is less use of labor
in agricultural sector. These unemployed persons move to
cities to find jobs at less wage rate. Accordingly, use of
modern techniques in agricultural sector is also a further cause
of unemployment and under employment

9. • Reduction in Foreign Employment
Due to illiteracy, ill training and lack of skill & efficiency demand
for our labor in foreign market is decreasing. It also creates
problem of unemployment.
• Use of Advanced Technology
A poor country uses backward techniques of production and labor
intensive technologies. But when it uses the advanced
technology there spread more unemployment in the country

10. SOCIAL CAUSES
• High Population Growth Rate
The population of Pakistan is increasing at a rate of 2.1 %. Due
to this high rate about two million people enter into the labor
market each year.
• Illiteracy & Literacy
Illiteracy and literacy both are the causes of unemployment in
Pakistan. Due to Illiteracy people are not able to work and they
remain unemployed. On the other hand number of educated is
increasing annually but government is unable to create
employment opportunities e.g., students of B. Com. are
increasing at very fast speed but they cannot find jobs and
admissions for higher education. Rate of illiteracy in Pakistan is
42.3 %.

11. • Follow New Trend of Education
Students are that whenever there comes a new trend or a new
technology, then everyone follows to study that specific subject
only rather than differentiating themselves they all follow the
same pattern.
Later, when there are only 5-10 vacancies of that specific field the
number of graduates of that field are in thousands.
• Under Govt. Educational Institutions
Around 80% of the educational institutions in Pakistan are under
government. So, our educational and technical institutions do not
equip the students properly to suit international and at times even
local markets.
• Lack of Confidence in Educated Persons
A student may have a master’s degree ,but when he walks into an
office for his interview, he lacks the confidence to carry himself for
a formal conversation and in the end so many students of this
type are rejected and left unemployed!

12.  Lack of Technical Education
Today, literacy rate is 57.7 %. Number of students of every field
especially of commerce, are so large but employment
opportunities for them are few.
 Rural-Urban Migration
Pakistan an agricultural based economy, is currently undergoing
the process of mechanization. Labor is being replaced by
machines, creating unemployment in rural areas.
 Political Instability
There is political instability in Pakistan, which creates less
attraction for foreign investment. Due to political instability
investor hesitates to invest.
• Afghan Refugees
They create a bad effect on our labor market. They are ready to
work more at less wage rate.

13. • Nepotism and Favoritism
It means selection according to relation, language, caste, sects
not according to ability. Here deserving candidates do not get
jobs and remain unemployed or under employed.
• Re-employment
Re-employment of higher rank civil and especially armed forces
officers has decline the jobs for qualified young men in Pakistan
• Law and order situation of Karachi
Karachi is the biggest and an ideal place in terms of industrial
base of Pakistan. Sadly, investors are not willing to invest in
Karachi due to violence that has taken over Karachi in the past
few years

14. FINANCIAL CAUSES
• Lack of Credit Facilities
It is so difficult to manage the personal business and selfemployment due to absence of easy credit facilities.
Accordingly, shortage of credit facilities is also a main cause
of unemployment
• Deficiency of Capital
There is shortage of capital that leads to low level of saving
and investment in Pakistan. It results in low rate of capital
formation and caused in unemployment

15. STEPS OF GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN
AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT
• SMEDA (SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
DEVELOPMENT)
SMEDA provides loans to the deserving persons to
establishment of Small and Medium industries.
• SKILL DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS
Skill Development Council is play vital rule to educate the
people who desired to improved their technical qualification in
industrial and other organizations.
• OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT CORPORATION (OEC)
Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC)was established in
1976 by Govt. of Pakistan and is only employment promotion
agency operating in public sector. During 37 years, sending
more than 135,000 workers to 55 different countries across
the world.

16.  PRIME MINISTER’S YOUTH PROGRAM
The following Six Schemes are being launched
Prime Minister’s Scheme
Loan per
person
Candidat
es
Budg All
PM’s Qarz-e-Hasna Scheme
25,000
250,000
3.5 Billion
PM’s Small Business Loan Scheme
0.5 to 2.0 M
100,000
5 Billion
PM’s Youth Skill Development Scheme
3,000/
six months
25,000
800 M
PM’s Scheme for provision of Laptop
40,000/
laptop
100,000
4.0 Billion
30,000
1.2 Billion
PM’s Scheme for Reimbursement of Fee of 40,000 Tuition
Students from the Less Developed Areas
fee / year
 NATIONAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (NIP)
The educated youth of Federal Regions (ICT, FATA, GILGIT, BALTISTAN, and
AJK), along with monthly stipend of Rs. 10,000/-.

17. RECOMMENDATIONS
• Establishment of Employment Offices
There is not any single office for the information about
employment opportunities in Pakistan. More and more
employment offices should be established these would cause in
reduction in unemployment.
• Population Control
Fast growth rate of population should be controlled. Due to
population control there will be more employment
opportunities and reduction in unemployment
• Growth of Industrial Sector
Government should provide basic infrastructure to established
industries is rural areas. Growth of industrial sector is needed
to reduce unemployment.

18. • Reduction in Retirement Period
Retirement age is 60 years in Pakistan. It should be reduce to 55
years to provide more employment opportunities
.
• Subsidies to Private Sector
Stable government is required to subsidize the private sector.
Government should help the private sector to development. It
will create more employment chances.
• Job on Merit
Government should eliminate the nepotism and favoritism.
Employment opportunities should be provided in accordance to
skill and ability.
• Economic Growth
Govt. should make efforts to push economic growth process. For
this purpose Economic Revival Package should announce for the
revival of industries sector, to stimulate production and
investment

19. • Fiscal and Monitory Policies
Beside this a number of fiscal and monetary measures should
take to attract industrialists and particularly foreign investment.
• Export more than import
Government needs to motivate people to export more than import
through broadening the tax base and by lowering down the tariff
plans.
• Foreign Investment
The government need to make such policies that attracts foreign
investment in our country which will lead to more job
opportunities.

20. CONCLUSION
 In conclusion, another erupting challenge standing before
Pakistan is wide-spread unemployment. Thousands of educated
graduates are jobless. Hundreds of thousands of unemployed
workers are forced to lead their lives below their status. Large
scale unemployment has serious effects on the country’s
production also. Moreover, the country’s population has
drastically increased during recent years. Therefore, every step
taken to improve the living standard of common man proves to
be futile and ineffective.
 We conclude that there are two major elements, which can
reduce the unemployment i. e., use of labor intensive industries
and adoption of self-reliance policy. Progress and prosperity is
impossible without the reduction in unemployment.

21. THANKS