…overall unemployment rate has reached 3.1 percent
Dechen Dolkar
The youth unemployment rate in the country is estimated at 16.5 percent for the third quarter, a drop from 19.2 percent in the second quarter of this year.
This projection is based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) report for the third quarter, released yesterday by the National Statistics Bureau. The survey was conducted in August 2024.
The total number of unemployed youth aged 15 to 24 years is 6,885. Among them, 38.4 percent (2,645 individuals) are male, while 61.6 percent (4,240 individuals) are female, indicating a higher unemployment rate among young women compared to young men.
Youth unemployment is more pronounced in urban areas, with 52.8 percent of unemployed youth residing in urban regions, compared to 47.2 percent in rural areas.
The report also indicates that the overall national unemployment rate reached 3.1 percent in the third quarter, a decrease from 3.7 percent in the second quarter and 4.1 percent in the first quarter.
This means that out of 391,113 economically active individuals, 12,090 were unemployed but actively seeking work and available for employment during the reference period.
Among the dzongkhags, Samdrupjongkhar recorded the highest unemployment rate at 5.6 percent, followed by Thimphu at 4.2 percent. In terms of thromdes, Phuentsholing had the highest unemployment rate at 10.3 percent, while Gelephu reported the lowest at 5 percent.
In absolute numbers, Thimphu Thromde had the highest number of unemployed individuals, totalling 3,389, followed by Phuentsholing Thromde with 1,396 individuals.
By education level, the highest unemployment rates were observed among those with higher secondary education (5,646 individuals), followed by bachelor’s degree holders (2,246 individuals) and those with middle secondary education (1,778 individuals).
According to the report, the country’s total working-age population (defined as all individuals aged 15 years and older) is estimated at 600,412, comprising 314,586 males and 285,826 females. Of this total, 391,113 persons (60.9 percent male and 39.1 percent female) are considered economically active.
The employment rate stands at 96.9 percent, meaning that 379,023 individuals are employed. Among these, 61.3 percent are male and 38.7 percent are female.
According to International Labour Organization (ILO) standards, a person is considered employed if they worked at least one hour in a week or were on leave for various reasons, provided that their activity contributes to the production of goods or services as defined by the national accounting system.
The quarterly survey, conducted at the national level, aims to provide information on key labor market indicators and characteristics in accordance with ILO guidelines.
A total of 3,027 households from twenty Dzongkhags participated in the survey.