New Delhi, Nov 5 (NationPress) The unemployment rate in Pakistan is currently at 7.8 percent, as per the nation’s inaugural digital census. This equates to around 18.7 million individuals without jobs in a total population of 241.5 million.

For those of working age, the situation is graver, with an unemployment rate hitting 11 percent among the 171.7 million economically active populace, as revealed by an article in the Pakistan Observer.

Further compounding the dilemma, the article indicates that a staggering one-third of Pakistani youth aged between 15 to 35 are currently without employment.

The reported unemployment rate does not reflect the millions of young Pakistanis who fall into the NEET category (not in education, employment, or training). This cohort includes those who have ceased job hunting, are involved in unpaid or informal work, or are stuck in low-yield family businesses, according to the article.

Women’s participation in the labor force is alarmingly low, ranking among the lowest in the region, which further intensifies the NEET issue and sidelines a significant segment of the country's potential workforce, the article asserts.

Structural unemployment is increasingly evident, where the skills possessed by the workforce do not meet the evolving demands of the economy. The education system in Pakistan, hindered by inadequate quality and outdated curricula, fails to prepare students with relevant market skills. Limited vocational training options and a tendency among educated youth to pursue scarce public sector jobs exacerbate the situation.

By 2025, Pakistan's unemployment rate is projected to escalate to 8 percent, with the total labor force estimated at 85.18 million and around 6.81 million individuals unemployed. The employment rate remains around 52.2 percent, indicating that nearly half of the working-age population is either jobless or underemployed, the article states.

Economic challenges, including inflation and a foreign exchange crisis, coupled with the impacts of the 2022 and more recent 2025 floods, have devastated small enterprises and local job opportunities. A Post-Disaster Needs Assessment from the World Bank disclosed billions in damages and a regression of millions into poverty. Without timely and strategic policy responses, such shocks threaten to render otherwise employable youth into long-term economic casualties.

The article warns that the ramifications of youth unemployment extend beyond mere economic statistics. Marginalized youth face heightened risks of poverty, forced migration, and potential recruitment into criminal or extremist organizations. The psychological toll, manifesting as despair and hopelessness, is both profound and damaging.

In underdeveloped areas, young individuals are often trafficked into forced labor, coerced into begging, or thrust into the sex trade. The coal mines of Balochistan have become notorious for such exploitation, where laborers lose their lives due to a lack of basic safety measures. These tragedies, though occasionally reported, underscore a more profound systemic failure to safeguard youth from predatory forces. The lack of job opportunities also contributes to a rise in street crime, with young men resorting to theft at gunpoint, the article notes.

In some madrasas and across social media, disenchanted youth are drawn in by the allure of respect and power, often symbolized by the possession of weapons. This radicalization poses not just a security threat but also reflects a societal failure to provide meaningful alternatives for its youth, the article concludes.