The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The unemployment rate is significantly higher in urban areas standing at 5.54 percent than the 1.75 percent in rural areas according to the Fourth Quarter (October- December) Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for 2024.
Two third of unemployed individuals, which is 64.2 percent of the total unemployed population resides in urban areas, while 35.8 percent lives in rural areas.
As per the survey report, the unemployment-to-population ratio is significantly higher in urban areas at 3.4 percent, more than double that of rural areas which is 1.2 percent.
Urban areas are more affected, with a youth unemployment rate of 19.8 percent, compared to 15.5 percent in rural areas.
Youth unemployment remains a critical issue, with 6,598 young individuals among the unemployed, accounting for 54.8 percent of the total unemployed population.
The youth unemployment rate stands at 17.7 percent, showing a slight increase from the previous quarter which was 16.5 percent.
The survey highlights that the highest unemployment rate is seen among younger age groups, topping at 15-19 years.
Unemployment remains above the overall rate until the 25-29 years age group, after which it gradually declines, flattening out from the age of 45 and above.
However, the number of unemployed individual’s peaks in the 20-24 years age group before dropping sharply from 25-29 years onwards.
Female unemployed youth is higher than that of males, with 21.2 percent and 14.5 percent, respectively.
Female unemployment is higher than male unemployment across various statistics. Of the total 12,046 unemployed individuals, 56.3 percent are female.
Female also experience higher unemployment rates in specific categories, such as educational accomplishment, where females with a Bachelor’s degree have a much higher unemployment with 17.82 percent compared to males which is 6.55 percent.
Additionally, the unemployment-to-population ratio is also higher for females at 2.4 percent compared to 1.7 percent for males.
As per the survey, in terms of educational accomplishment, individuals with a Bachelor’s degree reported the highest unemployment rate at 10.81 percent, while those without formal education had the lowest rate at just 0.25 percent.
Over the course of the year, the average unemployment rate across all four quarters was 3.5 percent, with females experiencing a rate of 4.4 percent and males at 2.9 percent.
Of the total working-age population, which is 596,970, there were 12,046 individuals unemployed, resulting in an unemployment-to-population ratio of 2.0 percent.
Dzongkhag wise, Paro recorded the highest unemployment rate at 6.21 percent, whereas Trashigang and Lhuentse saw the lowest rates, at 0.46 percent and 0.50 percent, respectively.
Among the four thromdes, Gelephu had the highest unemployment rate at 8.65 percent, while Phuentsholing recorded the lowest at 3.94 percent.
