Overseas jobs tumble to 10-month low in February

TBS Infographics.

The overseas employment of Bangladeshis dropped to a ten-month low in February, driven by decrease in employment opportunities in Malaysia and Oman.

The recruitment flow is now on a downward trajectory in the last three months and recruiting agencies say the trend may continue as the government is cautious to send workers amid allegations of joblessness in Malaysia and some other destinations.   

Bangladesh, which heavily relies on remittance income, sent 74,306 workers in the second month of 2024, marking around a 32% year-on-year decrease and a 15.42% month-on-month decrease, according to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET).

Despite the decline in labour migration, however, Bangladesh received $2.16 billion in remittances in February, marking a significant year-on-year increase of 38.46% and the highest monthly inflow in the past eight months.

Malaysia used to employ over 22,000 workers each month in recent months. However, the Southeast Asian country employed only 6,115 workers in February.

Besides, Oman has suspended issuing visas for most Bangladeshis since last November amid the allegation of an oversupply of workers, which resulted in a drastic fall in hiring migrants from Bangladesh.

The Gulf country has been recruiting around 10,000 Bangladeshi workers every month last year, but no workers were employed last month. 

"Due to several job-related issues, the government is prioritising high-quality migration. This has led to stricter regulations on sending people abroad, resulting in a lower overall staff turnover rate," said Ali Haider Chowdhury, secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira). 

He further said the large labour market in Malaysia has also been affected by these regulations. 

However, the recent figures are still significant as Bangladesh usually sent 60,000-70,000 workers abroad in the pre-Covid period.

Labour recruiters said workers who were unable to migrate in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic have done so in subsequent years, which has boosted a huge jump in migration.

Saudi Arabia remains top destination

Traditionally, Saudi Arabia stands as the top destination for Bangladeshi workers, and February was no exception, with the country hiring 44,083 workers.

Although the majority of these recruits were low-skilled construction workers, such as cleaners, and housemaids, the Gulf nation plans to hire more health workers from Bangladesh in the coming months.

After Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Malaysia, Qatar, Singapore, Kuwait, and Jordan were the top destinations in February.

Malaysia job market closes on 31 May 

The ongoing process of hiring Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia will be closed by 31 May.

Malaysia reopened its labour market in December 2021 after a four-year pause and soon emerged as the second-largest employer of Bangladeshi workers internationally, just behind Saudi Arabia.

Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail last week said the deadline enables Malaysia to evaluate the effectiveness and accurately assess the need for foreign labour in the country.

"This decision is also expected to prevent the exploitation of foreign workers as reported by various media channels before," he added.

Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, former secretary general of Baira, told TBS, "The quota that was in the current flow should be completed by May." 

Since the opening of the Malaysian labour market, 4.26 lakh people have already left Bangladesh, and another 60,000 to 80,000 are expected to go soon, he added.

However, a concerning downside persists as numerous workers, predominantly in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Oman, face challenges in securing employment due to fake job offers in recent months.

Malaysia-bound workers are paying 4.5 lakh to 5.00 lakh, despite the expatriate welfare ministry fixing the rate at Tk79,000.