Analysis of the labor force survey 2020-21 reveals that approximately 70% female engineering graduates residing in the country are either unemployed or out of labour force.
Out of total 28,920 female engineering graduates, 6,054 (20.9%) are unemployed and 14,720 (50.9%) were out of labor force while only 8,146 (28%) were employed. This was revealed in joint research conducted by Gallup Pakistan and PRIDE, using data from Labour Force Survey 2020-21 on female engineering graduates (including individuals who have passed Bachelors, MS/M.Sc., M.Phil. or Ph.D. degree in any field of engineering) and their status in the labor market.
The analysis of the data for the three groups (employed, unemployed and out of labour force) by region (rural and urban), shows that around 21.1% of all engineering graduates resided in the rural regions in the country while 78.9% of them were in the urban areas. The analysis of the data shows that within the rural region, 43.9% of engineering graduates were employed, while around 36.3% were unemployed.
The proportion of engineering graduates who opt to remain out of labour force in the rural region was substantially lower (19.8%) than the national average (50.9%). The analysis with respect to urban areas shows that around 24.0% of female engineering graduates were employed, while 16.8% were unemployed. The major share of female engineering graduates remains out of labour force in the urban region at more than 59.2%.
The comparison of the figures of employed engineering graduates, by region, show that the employment opportunities for the female engineering graduates are significantly higher in the urban areas (67.2%) compared to the rural areas (32.8%).
