‘Nearly half of working-age youth remained jobless over past decade’

World Bank Vice-President for South Asia Johannes Zutt has said it will strengthen its support for large-scale job creation in Bangladesh, particularly for young people.

He made the statement at the end of a three-day visit to Bangladesh, according to a press release.

Zutt said the government had placed strong emphasis on expanding employment opportunities alongside improving skills and attracting investment.

“The government places a high priority on large-scale job creation, alongside skills and investment, and the World Bank Group shares this commitment,” he said.

“In this context, we are stepping up our focus on supporting the government priority of creating jobs, notably for youth and women,” he added.

During the visit, Zutt met with senior government leaders and officials, as well as representatives from civil society, to discuss Bangladesh’s development priorities and areas of cooperation with the World Bank Group.

His meetings included discussions with the finance and planning minister, the commerce minister, the prime minister’s adviser on finance and planning, and the Bangladesh Bank governor.

Zutt highlighted the growing pressure in the labour market, noting that over the past decade around 14 million young people entered Bangladesh’s workforce while only 8.7 million jobs were created.

“This means nearly half of working-age youth did not find jobs,” he said, adding that young women face particularly steep barriers in accessing employment.

With global uncertainties increasing, Zutt said it is urgent for the government to carry out long-pending macroeconomic and financial sector reforms to remove key bottlenecks to economic growth and job creation.

He noted that the World Bank Group is working with countries to build economies that turn growth into local jobs by strengthening the foundations for employment.

According to Zutt, the organisation supports investment in physical and human infrastructure, promotes a business-friendly environment and mobilises private capital to accelerate job creation at scale.