KARACHI: Pakistan is confronting a critical employment challenge as hundreds of thousands of educated youth struggle to enter the workforce each year. According to recent findings from the Labor Force Survey and a report by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), between 450,000 and 800,000 students graduate from universities annually, yet approximately 31% to 33% remain without jobs. The crisis is particularly acute among youth aged 20 to 24, where the unemployment rate has climbed to 32.8%, meaning every third young graduate in the country is unable to secure employment.
The crisis spans specific technical fields and displays a notable gender divide. Unemployment among engineers has reached 23.5%, while female degree holders aged 20 to 24 face an even steeper challenge, with 42.3% remaining out of work. On a national level, the total number of unemployed individuals has surged to nearly 8 million. Geographically, Punjab accounts for the largest share with 3.5 million unemployed citizens, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 1.2 million (a rate of 9.2%), Sindh with 1 million, and Balochistan with 200,000 educated individuals seeking work.
Economic experts point to ongoing macroeconomic slowdown and a significant mismatch between university curricula and contemporary market demands as the key drivers behind this alarming trend, leaving thousands of qualified professionals unprepared for available opportunities or unable to find jobs in a shrinking market.
