SINDH has experienced the highest average urban unemployment growth of 1.8pc during the period between 2001-02 and 2013-14, says the annual review of social development done by Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) in 2014-15. The total labour force of Sindh was calculated at 6.3 million and employed labour force was 5.9m against 400,000 unemployed. In view of these statistics, the rate of unemployment stood at around 6.3pc in urban Sindh in 2013-14. Numbers beyond that point are not available which tells its own tale.

The picture looks gloomy in Sindh — the second most populous province — where the Agriculture sector is struggling amidst pathetically low commodity prices coupled with lower per-acre yields in cash crops like cotton, and the Industrial sector is faced with a host issues.

According to Mahmood Nawaz Shah, a farming community leader, the sector has shown -2.5pc growth from 2006-07 onwards. This used to be 4.5pc. “Farm sector has the capacity to grow. We can increase our yields easily and there is need to link the sector with CPEC to cash in on Chinese, Russian, Central Asian markets through road link,” he insisted.

Economic expert Dr Kaiser Bengali pointed the finger at what he called population explosion. “Government jobs are not the answer and even otherwise the government lacks the political will to handle it the way it needs to be handled,” he observes. Industries are facing closure, he says, and the industrialists are keen to invest in commodity trading, real estate and the stock market. “Simply, you are not to be worried of so many hiccups if you are playing in these sectors,” he remarked.

“It is the high-skill sector that offers some jobs, but again it is not a labour-intensive sector,” he said, adding that increasing dependence on government jobs among the youth was bound to increase non-development expenditure and budget deficit.

The agriculture sector in the province is struggling amidst pathetically low commodity prices coupled with lower per-acre yields in cash crops such as cotton

As for the industrial sector, budding entrepreneur Asif Memon moaned about moratorium on gas supply. It is a serious issue, he said pointing out that the government is offering re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) which is quite expensive. That’s the reason why industrialists tend to think to move towards trading and real estate, he said.

Coming to jobs in the public sector, Sindh has put a moratorium on government jobs, but with next year’s general elections in sight, it is safe assumption in political circles that the ban would soon be lifted and jobs would be handed out ahead of polls.

Labour leader Karamat Ali was of the opinion that things would become unmanageable if corrective measures were not taken right away. He regretted that even the concept of minimum wages was not respected for the unskilled labour in the industrial sector whereas the agriculture sector was witnessing unemployment because peasantry largely remained landless.

Hyderabad, the second largest urban centre in Sindh, doesn’t have any scope for jobs as qualified youths and professionals always opt for Karachi to seek jobs that adds to unplanned urbanisation. According to Awais Ghangra, a young Hyderabad-based industrialist, he struggles to find qualified youth for professional jobs in the city.

“We have to groom them. And, when groomed, they are always keen to explore the job market in Karachi where they end up getting a much better salary package,” he concluded.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2017