Proportion of females who report unemployment higher than those of males despite similar education levels
Six out of 10 women holding a postgraduate degree remained unemployed in Pakistan, found a Gallup analysis.
Reviewing the Pakistan Labour Force Survey for the year 2017-18, Gallup Pakistan found that 78% females were not part of the labour force compared to 33% of males. "Compared to 64% males, only 18% females are employed as per the Labor Force Survey," it said in the report.
A breakdown of the genders with an undergraduate degree showed that 77% males with a bachelors degree were part of the workforce but only 18% of females with the same degree level were part of the workforce.
The report said only 40% of females with a Masters degree are employed compared 86.4% of males.
"While fewer women are part of the labor force, these statistics are noteworthy because within almost all education levels, the proportion of females who report unemployment is higher than those of males," noted the report.
A general look at the survey showed that individuals with a masters degree or above were more likely to be employed compared to those with an undergraduate or professional degree.
“Those with no formal education are more likely to be employed compared to primary level (30%), Matric (43%) and Intermediate (41%),” said Gallup Pakistan.
The organisation said that the survey showed that in the last 12 months, 41% Pakistanis reported that they were employed, 3.7% said that they were unemployed, while 55.3% claimed that they were not in the labour force.
While assessing the age of the people in the workforce, Gallup Pakistan said that survey showed that unemployment was 4.6% among people under the age of 20, making it the highest when compared to other age groups. While unemployment was 4.1% among the people aged between 21 and 30. Age groups 31-40 and 41-50 reported the highest degrees of employment.
Gallup Pakistan’s study of the survey also found that unemployment in people from urban areas was 7%, much higher compared to the rural areas, where unemployment was 3%.
“Alternatively, while 42% of Pakistan’s rural population is employed, the number is smaller (36%) for the urban population,” said the group.