The unemployment rate of Pakistan witnessed a surge from 1.5 percent to 7 percent over the past decade, as revealed by the Ministry of Planning.
The growth of the country’s GDP is not enough to meet the needs of critical sectors like health and education. Currently, Pakistan’s unemployment rate is higher than both India and Bangladesh.
Women in Pakistan face even greater barriers to employment, struggling to access job opportunities compared to neighboring nations.
The country’s rapidly growing population, increasing by 5 million people annually, is exacerbating challenges in providing basic services and alleviating poverty.
The country needs an estimated 1.5 million new jobs each year to meet employment demands.
To address the youth unemployment the Planning Commission suggested a 6 percent reduction is necessary to lower the unemployment among youth, while a 17 percent decrease is necessary to improve female unemployment rates.
Meanwhile, inflation remains a pressing issue, with weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), rising by 3.97 percent year-on-year as of January 2, compared to the same week last year.
However, on a week-to-week basis, inflation decreased slightly by 0.07 percent.
Prices of essential items continue to climb with sugar prices increase by Rs. 1.31 per kilogram for the fifth consecutive week.
Other essential commodities, including chicken (Rs. 42.07/kg), onions (Rs. 6.37/kg), bananas (Rs. 3/dozen), and ghee (Rs. 7.73 per 2.5 kg tin), also saw price hikes.
Source: ARY News
