Unemployment in Pakistan is expected to reach seven percent in fiscal year 2024–25, up from 6.3 percent in 2020–21.

 

Media reports citing top officials confirmed that the overall unemployment rate has risen to around 7 percent, according to the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS). 

 

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) shared preliminary findings of the 2024–25 survey during the recent DataFest conference, though some experts raised questions about data from Islamabad and other areas. The government is expected to release the official report next week.

 

The 2020–21 LFS showed Pakistan’s labour force at 71.76 million, with a slight decline in unemployment to 6.3 percent. The survey highlighted an overall employment-to-population ratio of 42.1 percent, with a significant gender gap—64.1 percent of men employed versus just 19.4 percent of women. 

 

The services sector employed the most workers, while youth aged 15–24 faced the highest unemployment at 11.1 percent, particularly among females.

 

The 2024–25 LFS adopts the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) standards, replacing the older 13th ICLS framework used since 1982. 

 

The new framework distinguishes between work for pay or profit and unpaid own-use production work, such as growing food or raising livestock for household consumption, volunteering, or unpaid training.

 

This change means many individuals, particularly rural women, unpaid family workers, and subsistence farmers, who were previously counted as employed, may now be classified as engaged in own-use production work or outside the labour force. 

 

As a result, labour force participation and employment rates are expected to decline, while unemployment figures rise, providing a clearer picture of who is actively participating in the paid labour market.