Thousands of workers are grappling with extreme hardship due to the prolonged closure of the country’s largest stone quarries in the border areas of Sylhet, particularly in the regions surrounding Bholaganj, Jaflong, and Bichnakandi. Despite a recent High Court order allowing stone extraction using traditional methods, the quarries remain shuttered, leaving the local workforce in despair. The quarries in Bholaganj, Jaflong, and Bichnakandi have been closed for years under the pretext of environmental preservation. The High Court had intervened, issuing orders in favor of resuming stone extraction through traditional, environmentally-friendly methods. Yet, these orders have largely gone unheeded, and the quarries remain closed for reasons unknown to the workers and local business leaders. Leaders from the business organisations of Gowainghat and Companiganj upazilas have repeatedly appealed to the authorities, presenting the court's directives, but their pleas have been met with inaction. As a result, a vast number of daily wage laborers, dependent on the stone industry, have lost their livelihoods. Every morning, workers in Jaflong, Bichnakandi, Bholaganj, and surrounding areas are seen waiting in vain for work—some sitting with shovels and baskets, others hoping for a chance to be hired for manual labor. These workers, once part of a thriving industry, now face a grim future as their workplaces remain closed. The shutdown of the quarries has not only affected the workers but also the broader local economy. The stone industry was once a major contributor to both local and national revenue. According to local business leaders, if the quarries were reopened, the government could earn substantial revenue, while 3-4 lakh workers from across the country, including those from Sylhet, could regain employment and improve their livelihoods. Many stone traders are also facing financial ruin, having mortgaged their assets to banks to invest in the stone industry. With the quarries closed, they are unable to repay their loans, putting their homes and businesses in jeopardy. Local crushing zones, including those in North Sylhet, are becoming ghost towns as workers and entrepreneurs alike struggle to survive. The situation has become increasingly dire. Workers from Gowainghat, Jaintapur, and Companiganj upazilas, who know no other trade than quarry-related work, are now living in extreme poverty. In response, protests have erupted, with workers and local businesses demanding the immediate reopening of the quarries. Read: Four police officials investigated over Tk 100cr worth of sand, stones looted in Sunamganj Human chain events have been organised, with the workers chanting slogans like "want rice or work," highlighting their urgent need for employment. Hafizur Rahman, president of the Gowainghat Upazila Truck-Pickup, Covered Van Workers Union, said that the reopening of the quarries would not only revive the stone industry but would also improve the lives of thousands of workers and their families.  "If the quarries are opened, the government will generate revenue, and the living standards of the working people will significantly improve," Rahman said. Mohibur Rahman, a stone trader from Bichnakandi, echoed these sentiments, pointing out that the traditional method of stone extraction would allow businesses to recover their losses and enable workers to return to their jobs. Read more: Sylhet: Transport strike threatened on Monday to press for opening of stone quarries "The government needs to allow stone extraction in an environmentally friendly way. This will open the door to employment and livelihoods for many," he added. Minhaj Uddin, a businessman from Jaflong, called the closure a "humanitarian disaster" affecting workers who are now living in extreme conditions. Md. Touhidul Islam, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Gowainghat, said that the Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Department has ordered the local administration to halt all quarrying activities without a valid lease. As a result, Jaflong, Bichnakandi, and Bholaganj quarries, along with their sand extraction areas, remain closed. “Regular drives are being conducted to ensure compliance with the closure order,” he added. However, representatives from civil society in the region are urging the government to act quickly, calling for the urgent reopening of the quarries in light of the ongoing suffering of the workers. Local leaders, business owners, and workers continue to appeal for a solution, with the hope that their livelihoods can be restored and the region's economy revived.

Proactive steps are necessary to support Ready-Made Garment (RMG) workers who are at risk of unemployment as automation continues to grow in Bangladesh’s garment sector. In the next two years, 80% of garment factory owners in Bangladesh plan to invest in automated machines, according to data from research which was presented by LightCastle Partners at a dialogue event held in Gulshan. This was presented at an event at a hotel in the capital’s Gulshan on Monday organised by  LightCastle Partners, an international leading business consultancy firm, in partnership with Policy Exchange Bangladesh. Automation in the sector is expected to grow by over 13% during this period. Despite the increase in efficiency and projected production increases of up to 22%, concerns about rising unemployment persist. Out of an average of 2,250 workers per factory, only 500 are expected to be directly involved with automation processes, leaving many workers at risk. Automation, while presenting challenges for the workforce, is also key to enhancing the industry’s global competitiveness. Govt plans to introduce pension for RMG workers: Asif Advanced technologies can significantly boost productivity, improve quality control, and lower operational costs, ensuring that Bangladesh’s RMG sector maintains its competitive edge internationally. Embracing automation allows the industry to meet increasing demand for high-quality products with shorter lead times—critical for international buyers. Zahedul Amin, co-founder and director of LightCastle Partners, delivered a keynote presentation titled "Future-Proofing RMG: Tackling Automation for Sustainable Growth and Worker Wellbeing." He highlighted the need for a balanced approach that supports industry competitiveness through automation while safeguarding the workforce through upskilling and reskilling initiative. The event emphasized the need for urgent action to address the potential impacts of automation on the workforce, calling for recommendations that ensure sustainable growth while protecting the livelihoods of garment workers. During his presentation, Zahedul Amin shared findings from a recent research that showed 93% of garment operators in Bangladesh are willing to work with automated machines, with 70% of female workers expressing interest in gaining new skills for operating modern machinery. All RMG factories except 3 open in Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur Dr. M Masrur Reaz, Chairman of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, moderated the dialogue, where industry leaders and experts discussed the pressing issues. Kazi Faisal Bin Seraj, Country Representative of The Asia Foundation, delivered the opening remarks, emphasizing the need for collective action to future-proof the RMG industry. The speakers highlighted a range of strategies for ensuring the RMG sector’s resilience in the face of technological changes, including prioritizing the procurement of updated technologies, enhancing occupational safety, and implementing upskilling and reskilling programs to transition workers into new roles. According to data from the Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh ranks second globally in ready-made garment exports. In the 2023 fiscal year, Bangladesh exported $47 billion worth of garments. The RMG sector contributed 10.35% to the country’s GDP in 2023, employing 4.1 million workers, 60% of whom are women. As Bangladesh's garment industry faces transformative changes, LightCastle Partners remains at the forefront of developing strategies that combine technological advancement with worker protection, ensuring a sustainable and competitive future for the sector.

India's unemployment rate witnessed a sharp decline to 6.57 per cent in January, the lowest since March 2021, as the country gradually recovers with easing of restrictions following a decline in Omicron cases, according to CMIE. While unemployment in urban India stood at 8.16 per cent in January, in rural areas it was the lowest at 5.84 per cent, as per data by independent think-tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), reports Business Standard. In December, the unemployment rate stood at 7.91 per cent, with urban at 9.30 per cent and rural at 7.28 per cent, it added. Telangana reported the lowest unemployment rate at 0.7 per cent in January, followed by Gujarat (1.2 per cent), Meghalaya (1.5 per cent) and Odisha (1.8 per cent). Read: How India plans to spiff up economic growth However, Haryana had the highest unemployment rate at 23.4 per cent, followed by Rajasthan at 18.9 per cent. CMIE had estimated the number of unemployed in India as of December 2021 at 53 million, of which a huge proportion were women. CMIE MD and CEO Mahesh Vyas, in his analysis of the December data, said 35 million people were actively looking for work in December 2021, of which 23 per cent or 8 million were women. An equally important challenge is to provide employment to the additional 17 million who were also not employed and were willing to work if work was available, although they were not actively looking for employment, Vyas added.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plummeted last week to the lowest level in more than half a century, another sign that the U.S. job market is rebounding rapidly from last year's coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 71,000 to 199,000, the lowest since mid-November 1969. But seasonal adjustments around the Thanksgiving holiday contributed significantly to the bigger-than-expected drop. Unadjusted, claims actually ticked up by more than 18,000 to nearly 259,000. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly ups and downs, also dropped — by 21,000 to just over 252,000, the lowest since mid-March 2020 when the pandemic slammed the economy. Read:Americans are spending but inflation casts pall over economy Since topping 900,000 in early January, the applications have fallen steadily toward and now fallen below their prepandemic level of around 220,000 a week. Claims for jobless aid are a proxy for layoffs. Overall, 2 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment checks the week that ended Nov. 13, down slightly from the week before. “Overall, expect continued volatility in the headline figures, but the trend remains very slowly lower," Contingent Macro Advisors wrote in a research note. Until Sept. 6, the federal government had supplemented state unemployment insurance programs by paying an extra payment of $300 a week and extending benefits to gig workers and to those who were out of work for six months or more. Including the federal programs, the number of Americans receiving some form of jobless aid peaked at more than 33 million in June 2020. Read:US reopens to international travel, allows happy reunions The job market has staged a remarkable comeback since the spring of 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic forced businesses to close or cut hours and kept many Americans at home as a health precaution. In March and April last year, employers slashed more than 22 million jobs. But government relief checks, super-low interest rates and the rollout of vaccines combined to give consumers the confidence and financial wherewithal to start spending again. Employers, scrambling to meet an unexpected surge in demand, have made 18 million new hires since April 2020 and are expected to add another 575,000 this month. Still, the United States remains 4 million short of the jobs it had in February 2020. Companies now complain that they can't find workers to fill job openings, a near-record 10.4 million in September. Workers, finding themselves with bargaining clout for the first time in decades, are becoming choosier about jobs; a record 4.4 million quit in September, a sign they have confidence in their ability to find something better.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Monday said extreme poverty rate will come down to 3 percent by 2030 and that the country will be free of poverty after 2041. "Once 80 percent people were poor in Bangladesh but now the poverty rate stands at 20 percent thanks to good initiatives. The Sheikh Hasina government laid emphasis on eliminating poverty from the country in 2009," he said at the unwrapping ceremony of the book titled "Sheikh Hasina Sarker" at Jatiya Press Club in the capital. Momen said Bangladesh needs the incumbent government for its further development. Also read: SANEM survey: Population below poverty line doubled, extreme poor trebled in 2020 "Once our annual average growth rate was 2.2 percent. Now it’s 6.9 percent. It's an unbelievable development. Bangabandhu brought freedom and his daughter fulfilled his dreams," he said. Momen said Bangladesh once faced serious food crisis. The government announced to resolve the problem providing subsidy in agriculture sector. Now there is no food crisis. "Earlier, power cuts were common [but now] the government has increased power production to 24,000MW from 2009-2020," the minister added. The Foreign Minister said the government took lots of initiatives to make the population skilled to eliminate unemployment. Besides, the government took steps to tackle climate change impact. He said that is why the Prime Minister won champion of the earth award and earned the respect of the global audience. Also read: PM vows to wipe out poverty through united efforts About Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka, Momen said we are honoured that he chose Bangladesh to be his first tour abroad since the coronavirus outbreak. He added that 65 countries sent messages to appreciate Bangladesh. They also appreciated Sheikh Hasina for the Rohingya response. Momen highlighted Bangladesh’s development and said the country currently has a forex reserve of $44 billion and is regarded as a leader in South Asia. Also read: COVID-19 could push over 1 bln into extreme poverty: UNDP The author of the book Razu Alim said he tried to include various information about the government of Sheikh Hasina in his book. Jatiya Press Club President Farida Yesmin and Awami League Office Secretary Biplob Barua were also present at the event.

 

Although the average household income declined by 20 percent due to Covid-19 fallout, the resumption of economic activities helped bring down the unemployment rate, according to a survey of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Economists have forecast that employers added 1.4 million jobs in August and that the unemployment rate fell from 10.2 percent to 9.8 percent, according to a survey by data provider FactSet.

About 70 percent fishermen of the coastal belt have lost their jobs because of the ongoing 65-days ban on fishing in the Bay of Bengal, a new study says.

Amid the growing unemployment and poverty rate during the shutdown period due to COVID-19, economists and businesses urged the government to distribute all stimulus packages properly in the affected sectors.