DOT Desk
The country’s inward remittance is expected to increase by 15.59 per cent in 2018 compared to that of the previous year, reports The Financial Express. Remittance showed such an upward trend as an increasing number of workers went abroad last year, said Tasneem Siddiqui.
founding chair of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit .
While presenting the report on Sunday, she said workers sent remittances worth US$ 14.34 billion during the January-November period of the current year.
“If the trend continues, the amount of total inward remittances may stand at about US$ 15.64 billion in 2018,” she said, adding that usually workers start sending remittances one year after their migration.
That is why remittances increased this year despite a decline in the outflow of workers, she said.
The amount of remittances was US$ 13.53 billion in 2017, Ms Siddiqui said referring to the Bangladesh Bank data.
She also said there were several reasons such as exchange house rate, workers’ job status, and economic conditions of employing countries behind an increase in remittances.
The report titled Pattern and Trends of Labour Migration 2018: Achievement and Challenges was released at a press conference at the city’s National Press Club.
The report, however, projected that outbound jobs are set to decline by about 27 per cent in 2018 compared to that of the previous year.
The number of outbound workers dropped this year mainly due to dependency on few traditional markets, the RMRRU chief said.
She mentioned that Bangladesh mainly depended on Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in 2018. As these countries reduced recruiting workers, so the number of jobs dropped significantly.
Referring to the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) data, Ms Siddiqui said a total of 614,585 Bangladeshi workers went different countries including those in Middle-East and Southeast Asian regions with jobs during the January-October period of the current year.