Nepal has highest employment rate in South Asia, says its media citing WB report

Nepal has bagged the top slot in terms of job creation in South Asia with an employment rate of around 68 per cent, the Kathmandu Post has cited a recent report by the World Bank as saying.

According to the Post, 32 per cent of the Himalayan country's working-age population (between 15 and 64) is either unemployed or voluntarily inactive and the figure is the lowest in the region which has a top performing economy like India.

"This has made Nepal an exception, as its employment rate is higher than that of many other countries with a similar income level, says the latest World Bank report, 'Jobless Growth?'," the Post report said. The World Bank's report was released on Monday, April 16.

The report also added that Nepal needs to create at least 2,86,900 jobs a year to maintain its good employment record.

As per an economic survey by the government of Nepal, the country's labour market witnesses entry of at least 5,12,000 youth every year and because of limited opportunities, most of them find jobs abroad like in Malaysia and Gulf.

However, the migration has gone down over the last couple of years and that has made it imperative for Nepal to create more opportunities at home, the Post reported.

It said more than 42,000 people belonging to the working-age class joined the market each month in the last financial year and the number is set to increase, suggesting a reduced dependency ratio.

Dependency ratio means the number of dependents (aged between zero to 14 and above 64) vis-à-vis the working population.

Dependency ratio has fallen in entire South Asia from 63 per cent in 2005 to 55 per cent in 2015, the report added, saying it is expected to decline to go down to 50 per cent by 2025. This means the South Asian countries, including Nepal, have an opportunity to see a faster economic growth since more people would be working, the World Bank report said.