FEATURES NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

By Uttam Maharjan

THE problem of unemployment is one of the grave problems besetting underdeveloped countries like Nepal. As compared to the developed world, it is more acutely felt in the developing countries, which are poor in infrastructure development.

High

It is estimated that 4.8 per cent of the Nepalese population is completely unemployed. This percentage seems to be small but given the percentage of people who cannot find work all the year round, the unemployment problem cannot be shrugged off. Such people called the semi-unemployed in economists' jargon constitute as high as 47 per cent of the total population.

Poverty and unemployment are highly interrelated. The higher the level of unemployment, the higher the level of poverty. In Nepal, 38 per cent of the people are living below the poverty line. Unofficial sources claim that those living below the poverty line make up over 50 per cent. The United Nations has devised a criterion whereby those earning less than one dollar a day are considered poor. By this criterion, 1.2 billion people living across the world are poor. Given the per capita income of USS 210 of the country, it can be easily conjectured that the majority of the Nepalese are on the bread line.

Nepal is predominantly an agrarian country, where 81 per cent of the people are involved in agricultural and allied pursuits. But agricultural development is not up to the mark due to lack of modern agricultural practices, irrigation facilities, sophisticated farming equipment, better fertilisers, improved seeds and other necessary inputs. That is why, the majority of the farmers find it hard to live off their produce even for six months. Even if some farmers can produce more than enough crops, they will not be able to benefit much due to lack of transportation and marketing facilities. Also, the import of crops like rice and wheat from India has dulled the market for indigenous crops.

So, the farmers are seasonally out of work for most of the year. Lack of off-farm job opportunities has compelled many to remain unemployed. This is a case of semi-unemployment.

Every year, about 3.5 million people are added to the labour market. But the labour market is not in a position to give all the job-seekers jobs. Rather, due to the economy being down in the dumps for a couple of years, even the job-holders are risking their jobs. Tourism business is in the doldrums. So are other businesses or industries such as transportation, manufacturing and construction.

In this age of liberalisation, the private sector is supposed to create more job opportunities. But it is not in a strong position. Due to the effects of the recession that has hit the world economy since the 9/11 attacks on the USA, the economy of the country has yet to fully recover. Now, the economic growth rate of the country is very low. Last year, a negative growth of 0.63 per cent was recorded, which was the lowest in the last two decades. Although the target of economic growth for this year has been set at 4 per cent, the existing economic indicators reveal that the growth rate will hardly reach 2 per cent.

Public enterprises in the country have their wings clipped. They are incurring heavy losses, compromising their very existence. Being a great burden to the government, four of the public enterprises were closed down last year, creating joblessness among many people. Even the privatisation of such dilapidated entities has not provided a satisfactory solution.

Now, the spectre of unemployment is very frightening in the country. Some unemployed youths make it a point of going abroad for employment. Foreign employment is catching up among the unemployed. But in most cases, people aspiring after work abroad get only bluecollar jobs due to lack of proper education and skills. However, of late the number of those going to foreign countries for employment has drastically dwindled due to one reason or the other.

The positive side of foreign employment is that it can mitigate unemployment to some extent in the home country. Further- and this is more crucial- inward remittances sent from abroad are a contributory factor to propping up the economy. As per a study, 73 billion rupees flows into the country in the form of inward remittances every year. This amount is very huge, considering the annual budget of the country to the tune of 96.12 billion rupees. However, as most of the remittances are spent on the purchase of land and buildings, consumption of necessary and luxurious things and social practices, the desired effects of such remittances on the economy have yet to come up.

To mitigate the problem of unemployment, it is necessary that job opportunities be created in a sustained and adequate manner. For this, vocational education need to be imparted to youths so as to enable them to whet their skills. Similarly, skill development training will also come in handly. This will pave the way for self-employment. But such programmes should basically target backward communities leading a hand-to-mouth existence.

Crucial

The provision for income-generating activities in every nook and cranny of remote and backward areas will certainly set the groundwork for solving the problem of unemployment in great measure. In
this respect, it is very crucial that the government and private sector go hand in hand towards tackling the unemployment problem. After all, unemployment is an acute problem that must be struck at its root so as to give the general public a decent living.

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