Six months into Tariq Rahman’s term, Bangladesh faces an energy crisis and rising prices. At the same time, the country continues to grapple with the aftermath of an uprising that forced the Sheikh Hasina regime out of power a year ago.
According to United Nations figures, approximately 1,400 people were killed during the uprising, which was initially sparked by civil service quota reservations. More than half of highly sought-after government jobs were previously reserved for specific groups, including women, disabled individuals, and descendants of veterans from the 1971 War of Independence. Bangladesh’s high court has since reduced these quota reservations to 7%.
Despite broad reform agendas drawn up by the interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus prior to the current administration, severe workforce challenges remain. About 30% of Bangladeshi youth are neither employed nor in school nor engaged in training, according to International Labour Organization (ILO) data.
“Amid jobless growth faced by the country’s youth, a fair chance at civil service recruitment tests became a rallying cry,” said Tuhin Khan, a leading activist in the quota reform movement and the July uprising, as reported by the Economic Times. “But since then, we have not seen enough meaningful focus from the government on the economic pressures faced by ordinary people as politics took center stage.”
Data shows that about 23% of young women in Bangladesh are unemployed, compared with 15% of young men. Maha Mirza, a researcher who teaches economics at Jahangirnagar University, noted that protesters during the movement ranged from graduate students seeking government jobs to garment workers and balloon sellers demanding dignified lives.
## Industrial Strain and Manufacturing Closures
While public sector hiring remains a focal point for job seekers, government recruitment can only absorb a fraction of the market. Last year, roughly 18,000 government positions were available, while more than 2 million young people enter the job market annually.
The garment and textile sector serves as a primary employer for young workers, but ongoing political transitions have triggered plant closures. More than a dozen factories owned by the Beximco Group, which previously employed 40,000 workers, have shut down. Following the political shift, approximately 10,000 people have been arrested on various charges, including corruption and murder, among them business owners tied to the former ruling party.
“I had quit my earlier workplace as they were holding up the payment of wages. Since then, we went from door to door in search of a job,” said Jasim Uddin, a former garment factory supervisor in the outskirts of Dhaka who has been jobless for months.
Arman Hossain, a trade union activist from Gazipur, explained that many factory owners affiliated with the previous administration went into hiding out of fear of arrest, causing widespread plant shutdowns. “We expected the government to appoint administrators who could temporarily operate those closed factories so that workers would not go jobless—but that did not happen,” Hossain said.
## External Pressures and Investment Outlook
External economic factors compound these domestic hurdles. The United States, which operates as the largest buyer of Bangladeshi apparel, announced a 35% tariff on the country’s products, creating direct pressure on a garment industry that employs roughly four million workers. Additionally, cuts to U.S. aid have left approximately 20,000 development workers in Bangladesh jobless.
Economists emphasize that resolving these structural roadblocks requires long-term capital influx. Rashed Al Mahmood Titumir, a professor of Development Studies at Dhaka University, noted that the creation of sustainable jobs depends on revitalizing investment.
“When we have a stable policy regime, there would be more investment, and that will bring in the much-needed jobs for young people, including graduates and women,” Titumir said.
