𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝-𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

…𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 3.1%, 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓, 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔

By Lhendup Wangmo

The third-quarter 2024 Labour Force Survey provides a nuanced view of Bhutan’s labor market, showing a slight decrease in the overall unemployment rate to 3.1% from 3.7% in the previous quarter. While this reduction suggests some improvement, the change is not statistically significant due to overlapping confidence intervals. This indicates that although there has been a slight dip, the labor market continues to face substantial structural challenges, with persistent gender, regional, and educational disparities, as well as concerning levels of youth unemployment.

The survey reveals deep gender imbalances in the unemployment environment. Women continue to experience significantly higher unemployment rates than men, with 4.2% of women unemployed compared to just 2.4% of men. This disparity suggests that women are still facing greater barriers to securing employment, despite the overall improvement in unemployment rates. These figures point to the need for more focused efforts to address the gender gap in Bhutan’s workforce, particularly in creating opportunities and support systems that enable women to participate fully in the labor market.

Regional disparities are another critical issue highlighted in the survey. Urban areas are facing significantly higher unemployment rates than rural regions, with urban unemployment standing at 5.1%, compared to just 2.1% in rural areas. This urban-rural divide reflects higher competition for limited job opportunities in cities, which are often characterized by skill mismatches, a growing population, and insufficient employment prospects. The survey also exposess extreme regional variation, with Phuntsholing Thromde, one of the country’s most economically active areas, recording the highest unemployment rate at 10.3%. In contrast, Samtse Dzongkhag reported the lowest unemployment rate at just 0.2%. Other areas like Samdrup Jongkhar (5.6%) and Gelephu (5.0%) demonstrate the uneven distribution of employment opportunities across the country, suggesting that economic conditions and job availability vary widely from region to region. Addressing these regional imbalances may require localized economic interventions and job creation strategies tailored to specific areas.

The relationship between education and unemployment rates is another significant focus of the survey. It appears that higher educational attainment does not always lead to better job prospects, as those with higher secondary education have the highest unemployment rate at 9.8%. This unexpected trend could indicate that there is a mismatch between the qualifications of graduates and the skills demanded by the job market. Interestingly, individuals with no formal education report the lowest unemployment rates at just 0.5%, a statistic that may reflect the demand for manual labor or skills-based work that doesn’t require formal education. The survey also reveals that females with a bachelor’s degree face the highest unemployment rate at 13.2%, while males with higher secondary education experience an unemployment rate of 8.5%. This data suggests that education alone is not enough to secure employment in Bhutan’s current labor market, and further analysis is needed to understand the broader economic and social factors contributing to these disparities.

Youth unemployment remains one of the most alarming issues in the survey. Among the total unemployed population, 6,885 individuals were aged 15-24, resulting in a youth unemployment rate of 16.5%. Although this is a slight improvement from the previous quarter’s rate of 19.2%, the reduction is not statistically significant, meaning the youth unemployment rate remains stubbornly high. The survey further highlights the gender gap in youth unemployment, with young women facing an unemployment rate of 21.8%, significantly higher than the 11.9% rate for young men. This indicates that young women are experiencing even greater challenges in finding employment than their male peers. Additionally, urban areas show a much higher youth unemployment rate of 20.1%, compared to 13.8% in rural areas. This urban concentration suggests that cities are struggling to accommodate the increasing number of young job seekers, possibly due to a lack of appropriate job training programs, insufficient job opportunities, or economic conditions that make it harder for youth to secure stable work.

The survey also looks at the unemployment-to-population ratio, which provides a broader view of the labor market’s health. This ratio, which reflects the proportion of the total working-age population that is unemployed, stands at 2.0%. However, there is a gender gap, with women experiencing a higher ratio of 2.3%, compared to men at 1.8%. The ratio is even higher in urban areas (3.0%) than in rural areas (1.4%), suggesting that the overall labor market challenges are more pronounced in cities. This measure stressess the fact that while the unemployment rate focuses on those actively seeking work, the unemployment-to-population ratio paints a more comprehensive picture of the labor market, capturing individuals who may have become discouraged or have given up on finding employment altogether.

Despite the slight decrease in the overall unemployment rate, the third-quarter 2024 findings emphasize the ongoing challenges faced by the labor market, particularly for women, youth, and those in urban areas. The survey highlights the critical need for targeted interventions to address these issues. Policymakers must focus on reducing gender disparities, providing more opportunities for youth employment, particularly in urban areas, and ensuring that educational qualifications align more closely with labor market demands. These challenges must be tackled with a comprehensive and inclusive approach to employment policies that address the diverse needs of the population, regardless of gender, age, education, or geographic location.

To ensure more equitable and sustainable employment opportunities, the government will need to develop a more inclusive strategy that combines regional economic development, gender equality initiatives, better alignment between educational systems and job market demands, and targeted youth programs. Only with such interventions can Bhutan hope to reduce its unemployment rate further and create a labor market that works for all its citizens.