A combined Macro and Micro-level Analysis of Unemployment in Pakistan.

Abstract

International Labour Organization (2001) defined unemployment. t as a situation when people aged 14 or above are out of work but need it. They are continuously searching for a job for the last four weeks and are available to join their work in two weeks. Unemployment has been one of the major issues in developing, emerging, and developed countries. Pakistan has over the years faced issues of high unemployment due to poverty, illiteracy, and lack of opportunities. An economy that has a population of around 200 million citizens requires proper infrastructure and a roadmap as to how they could decrease poverty. Over the past decade, the global unemployment rate has decreased slightly while the unemployment rate of Pakistan has increased. Rise in unemployment rate reflects low level of output, poor standard of living and decline in income of the economy (Shah eta!., 2022). Unemployment has been one of the major issues in developing countries. In 2020, Pakistan's unemployment rate was 5.04% and the global average unemployment rate was 6.2%. Key findings of labour force survey 2020-21 (2020) explained unemployment rate by province, where Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had 8.8%, Punjab had 6.8%, Sindh had 3.9% and Baluchistan had 4.3%.