25pc rise in workers going abroad

Kathmandu, October 4 :

Foreign employment continues to be the big charm for Nepali youth, as the number of people leaving the country for jobs abroad increased by over 25 per cent in the first two months of the current fiscal year.

The new statistics from the Department of Labour and Employment Promotion (DoLEP) shows that approximately 557 people left Nepal every day in search of greener pastures in foreign lands during the months of Shrawan and Bhadra. According to DoLEP, 33,445 people left the country for foreign employment, up from 26,600 people during the same period last year. Nepali workers mostly leave for 13 different destinations with 48 per cent opting for Malaysia as their working destination.

The report states that workers mainly left for 13 different labour destinations during the review period, including Malaysia, Gulf countries, Israel, South Korea, Kuwait, Hong Kong, the USA and Russia. As in the previous months, around 48 per cent of the workforce leaving the country had opted to go to Malaysia.

The number of people leaving the country rose by over 2,000 during the month of Bhadra (August-September) to 17,887 against 15,558 people in Shrawan (July-August), the first month of Nepali fiscal year.

The government report shows that a total of 16,507 workers left for Malaysia in the first two months of the current fiscal year, compared to 12,196 during the same period last year. In other words, a total of 275 workers are currently leaving for Malaysia for employment every day.

During the month of Bhadra, 8,895 people left for Malaysia, an increase from 7,612 workers in Shrawan. However, not a single women workers left for Malaysia during the month of Bhadra, while six women had gone there in Shrawan.

Although the total of number of labourers has declined by 16.5 per cent during the review period, Qatar still stands to be the second largest importer of Nepali workers. The number of Nepali workers leaving for Qatar dropped to 7,437 in the first two months, compared to 8,922 of the corresponding period last year.

Similarly, the number of workers leaving for Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) also went up by a hefty 123 per cent and six per cent, respectively. According to statistics, a total of 6,119 persons left for Saudi Arabia and 3,483 persons for UAE in the review period.

Among other countries, 274 left for South Korea, 247 for Kuwait, 134 for Bahrain, 65 for Hong Kong, 16 for Afghanistan, 12 for Israel, eight for Oman, five for the USA and three left for Russia during the review period.