The employment rate of a country is an indicator of its economic strength. Creating jobs is a priority for most governments. Governments offer employment themselves and devise policies to encourage the private sector to create jobs. Multiple factors define the dynamics of the job market.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, protection and creation of jobs became a huge challenge. According to the Special Survey for Evaluating Socio-Economic Impact of Covid-19 on Wellbeing of People, conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), almost half of the working population in the country was affected due to the closure of businesses and lock downs.

The significant impact that the pandemic had on the job market resulted in the massive laying off of workers. Now, as the situation has improved and vaccination drives are in full swing, businesses are opening up, and enterprises are looking for human resource. Besides, the government has announced recruitment in the public sector. For example, the Punjab has approved recruitment against 100,000 vacant posts in various government departments.

Coming to the local job market trends today, one sees a huge surge in the construction sector, which remained open even during the pandemic’s peak. Besides, the industrial sector was given relief which gave dividends in the end. As the textile sector became functional here before it did in India, Pakistan was able to secure a large number of orders that would otherwise have gone to its neighbour. It came to such a pass that it was hard to find workers for factories in Faisalabad as most of the labour was employed by industrial units in order to fulfil the orders. Workers skilled in dyeing, stitching, weaving, spinning etc, are still in great demand.

Economist Qais Aslam agrees that the construction and its auxiliary sectors like cement, steel, aluminium, glass, wood, ceramics and iron ore have created a large number of jobs. These jobs, he says, rank from top positions to menial ones. “The government puts money in construction projects, the private sector gets business and people find jobs,” says the economist. This is exactly what has happened here. He suggests that more jobs will be created if the government starts building dams and roads and links these with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Aslam adds that the home based workers (HBWs), who form a large component of the labour force (though informal), have work during wedding seasons or find some through middlemen. They had little to do during the lockdown, but now they are getting orders as traditional weddings are taking place and their mobility has increased. The HBWs are an integral part of business value chains. The closure of any sector is bad news for them, says Aslam.

“The government puts money in construction projects, the private sector gets business, and people find jobs,” says the economist. This is exactly what has happened here. He suggests that more jobs will be created if the government starts building dams and roads and links these with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Another trend that has been observed is that job seekers are also benefitting from opportunities like driving Uber and other taxi or motorcycle services. One finds students and recent graduates taking up the task as well. Though it is case of underemployment, they finally have something to do.

With mechanisation in the agricultural sector, jobs have also emerged for those with the relevant skills. Many people are now getting training, lessons or tips from peers on tunnel farming, piped irrigation and sprinkler systems. However, this mechanisation comes at the cost of manual jobs.

The education sector, which remained shut during the pandemic, is also looking for teachers and related staff as schools have opened and are on the road to recovery. Virtual teaching is still being adopted, attracting employers due to lower costs.

Dr Qais Aslam says there is an enormous potential for jobs in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector. The issue is that around 90 per cent of these exist in the services sector where a handful of people are employed. It is a pity that manufacturers have shut down their plants and are importing finished goods from China to be sold under their brands, he adds. By supporting SMEs in the manufacturing sector, a good number of jobs can be created.

Amir Aziz, Director General (DG), Placement, Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA), Punjab, tells TNS that technical jobs are high in demand. He says the automobile company, Honda, has recruited 250 of their students, and more are likely to join it. Shoe companies like Bata and Servis are also in talks with the authority. He says 5,000 women stitchers trained by the TEVTA have found work in just one unit, Mahmood Textiles. There is demand for 3,000 more workers.

Aziz points out that IT-based training has also helped their students land jobs. He says those trained as virtual assistants have been employed in no time. He says, the TEVTA is also conducting courses in artificial intelligence. He says there are openings here and in Gulf countries that are hiring Pakistanis on construction sector jobs.

Economist Dr Kaiser Bengali says the jobs are created primarily by the industrial sector, which has not developed at the required pace. He says he knows people who have shut down their factories, converted them into housing societies, and put their money in the stock market. “Earlier, they would be employing thousands, but now they operate from home or smart offices.” He demands that the government develop the industrial sector, which he says is largely neglected.

The economist says that the public sector is the driver of the private sector, and demand and money for the latter are generated when there is government spending. “We can say the government creates space, and the private sector steps in, bringing along new jobs.”

The author is a staff reporter and can be reached at shahzada.irfan@gmail.com