Pakistan’s unemployment rate has surged to 7.1% in FY2024-25 which is the highest in 21 years, according to the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
This Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2024-25 was conducted at the provincial level and was the 37th round in the series of surveys.
According to this report, the rate was 6.3% in 2020-21, and it surged to 7.1% in the last fiscal year shows that the job market has come under increasing pressure in recent years.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the rise was “an inevitable consequence” of economic tightening under the $7bn IMF programme, along with devastating floods in 2022 and 2025, which displaced millions and disrupted economic activity.
Pakistan’s Highest Unemployment Rate in Two Decades
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) chief statistician, Dr Naeemuz Zafar, said the jobless rate had risen from 6.3% in 2021 to 7.1% in the last fiscal year, the highest since 2003-04.
Pakistan’s unemployment rate has otherwise remained within a narrow band of 5.3% to 6.9% over the past two decades.
The new survey places the number of unemployed Pakistanis at 5.9 million, of whom:
- 77.5% (4.6 million) are literate
- 1 million hold formal degrees
- Youth (15–29) remain the most affected age group
Regional jobless rates show deep provincial variations:
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 9.6%
- Punjab: 7.3%
- Balochistan: 5.5%
- Sindh: 5.3%
Officials warn that with average GDP growth stuck below 3%, Pakistan is not generating enough jobs to absorb the 3.5 million new entrants added to the labour market each year.
Pakistan’s Unemployment Rate: A Nation Working Without Pay
One of the most striking findings of the survey is the scale of unpaid work. Out of a working-age population of nearly 180 million, about 118 million people are not paid for the work they do.
That means two out of every three working-age Pakistanis are unpaid workers.
Most of this unpaid work is in the form of domestic, caregiving or livestock-related tasks. PBS data shows that among the unpaid workers:
- 23% are involved in childcare
- 18.7% work in livestock
- 7% fetch water
- 7.1% raise poultry at home
The survey highlights how much of this burden falls on women. Around 45.4 million women are involved in household chores, 32.1 million in livestock activities and 20 million in caregiving roles.
Their work supports families and the rural economy but is rarely recognised or counted as formal employment.
The Labour Force Survey also shows that Pakistan’s employment structure is changing.
- The share of agriculture in total employment fell by 4% points to 33.1%
- Manufacturing employment declined slightly to 14.4%
- Wholesale and retail trade increased to 16% of total employment
- The services sector remains the largest employer with a 41.7% share
High interest rates, elevated energy prices and heavy taxation have made it difficult for industries and manufacturers to grow and hire more people.
The informal sector still dominates the job market. It accounts for more than 72% of non-agricultural employment, with a higher share in rural areas than in cities.
Good News: Wages And Labour Force Have. Increased in Pakistan
Despite the rise in unemployment, the report records a strong increase in average monthly wages between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
- Average monthly wage: Rs39,042, up from Rs24,028
- Male workers: Rs39,302, up from Rs24,643
- Female workers: Rs37,347, up from Rs20,117
Ahsan Iqbal said the wage gap between men and women has narrowed significantly during this period, although women still earn slightly less on average than men.
Similarly, the labour force participation rate has also risen from 44.9% to 46.3%. In absolute terms, the labour force has grown from 71.8 million in 2020-21 to 83.1 million in 2024-25.
This shows that about 3.5 million people are joining the labour force every year.
The structure of the workforce is as follows:
- Employees: 43.5%
- Own-account workers: 36.1%
- Contributing family workers: 19.1%
- Employers: 1.3%
Almost half of all female workers are classified as contributing family workers, which underlines how dependent the economy is on their unpaid or low-paid labour.
IMF Conditions and Data Transparency
The release of the Labour Force Survey is part of the government’s commitments under the IMF programme. The PBS has also completed the livestock census, and the Household Integrated Economic Survey is expected to be published next month.
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