The people in Pakistan are facing double jeopardy as the unemployment is increasing with every passing day and on the other hand sky-rocketing inflation has plunged many below the poverty line.
Though the employment and inflation situation was not ideal in 2018, but the situation has worsened in the first three years of the incumbent government.
24pc educated people are jobless across the country
The Senate of Pakistan has been recently informed by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) that the unemployment rate is rapidly increasing in the country and 24 per cent of educated people are jobless at the moment.
The PIDE informed the upper house of the parliament that the unemployment rate in the country had reached 16pc — contrary to the government’s claim of 6.5pc.
The committee was also informed that 40pc of educated women were also unemployed countrywide. The term ‘educated’ here refers to those people who have acquired an undergraduate or graduate degree, which should enable them to find a job.
M.Phil degree holders applied for a peon’s position recently
What can be dubbed as alarming situation, the officials of the PIDE the Senate committee that at least 1.5 million people applied for a peon’s position in a high court that was advertised recently.
“Among those applying for the job included M.Phil degree holders,” officials said. The PIDE officials said that no research was being conducted at the government level, adding that all such studies were done from abroad.
They said several research institutes were operating in the country, but the research purposes were not being fulfilled.
Economic Survey 2020-21 report
The Economic Survey 2020-21 released in June this year had revealed the spread of Covid-19 had severely affected employment conditions in the country and the suspension of economic activities due to imposition of lockdowns rendered an estimated 20.71m workers jobless.
According to the survey, a large population and lack of proper management of human resources have also had a negative impact on the employment rate in the country.
Inflation
The inflation rate in the country remained unchanged at 8.4% in August owing to significant changes in three indices, including food, transport, and construction.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday projected that inflation in Pakistan would remain the highest in the region at 7.5% and the economy would grow by 4% – the fifth-lowest rate among seven South Asian nations, puncturing the government’s claim of lowest prices in the country.
The Asian Development Outlook Update (ADOU) – the twice a year flagship publication of the ADB, revealed Pakistan’s standing among peer regional countries. The ADB has not taken into account Afghanistan’s economy due to prevailing uncertainties in the country.
Pakistan’s “economy is expected to continue recovering in fiscal year 2021-22, with real GDP projected to rise by 4%”, according to the ADB report.
‘Mafias jacking up the prices’
The government of Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan, and the federal ministers have been telling us time to time that mafias sitting in the various sectors like petroleum, forex market, retail market, sugar, and others have been jacking up the prices and the government is taking steps to control it.
However, the question the masses have been asking that how long will it take the incumbent government to neutralize the mafias, which are making the lives of the common man miserable with every passing day.
Why the govt failing to address both the crucial issues?
There has been a general perception prevailing across the country that the government is allegedly not taking any action against the mafias, which have jacked up the everything in the country, but the government has been saying that it is taking action and cleaning the system and mafias which have strong roots, needs time to get removed.
Other opinion is that the government is not willing to address the issue as all of the cabinet is focusing on one-point agenda of corruption cases, but in both cases, the people of the country are facing the heat, which needs to be addressed by the incumbent government.
