KATHMANDU, August 8: The number of Nepali workers going abroad in search of foreign employment declined sharply by 55 percent in the last fiscal year due to the risk of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Records with the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) show that the number of outbound workers dropped to 166,698 persons in 2020/21 compared to 368,433 in 2019/20. After the fast spread of the coronavirus globally, the government stopped issuing permits for foreign employment from March 2020, which was put into effect till June of the same year.  

Despite the impacts of the pandemic, the number of Nepali workers seeking jobs abroad has been in a downward trend in the past few years. In 2018/19, the number was Rs 508,828, which declined by 28 percent in the following year, show the DoFE records.

According to the department, Nepali migrant workers went to 116 countries in search of jobs in the last fiscal year. Qatar, one of the main attractions of the job seekers, welcomed 54,915 Nepalis in the review period. It was followed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that received 46,960 and 40,477 Nepali migrant workers, respectively.

 
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