Revitalisation of industry urged to check joblessness

KARACHI: Mian Zahid Hussain, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum & All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman National Business Group Pakistan and Chairman Policy Advisory Board FPCCI, stated that the findings of the newly released Labour Force Survey (LFS) present a critical challenge for the economic planners.

With unemployment rising to 7.1 percent, from 6.3 percent in 2020-21, there is an immediate need to revitalise the industrial sector to create jobs.

He highlighted that official unemployment is now 7.1 percent, despite adding 10 million jobs in four years, it hasn’t matched population growth.

Labour is shifting away from agriculture, with its employment share falling from 37.4 percent to 33.1 percent, while the services sector grew from 37.2 percent to 41.2 percent. Under the new definition (excluding subsistence farmers), the total labour force stands at 83.1 million, with a participation rate improving slightly to 46.3 percent. He also warned as labour leaves farms, corporate farming and mechanization must replace manual labour to ensure food security is not compromised.

Hussain said average monthly wages have risen from Rs 24,000 to Rs 39,000, reflecting the intense inflationary pressure on the cost of living rather than productivity-driven growth.

He added our workforce is moving out of agriculture, but the industrial sector is not expanding fast enough to absorb. Instead, they are moving into the services sector, often in low-productivity roles.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025