Figures compiled by the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) showed that a total 217,164 individuals left for different labor destinations last fiscal year, down from 249,051 recorded the previous year.
Of the total number of Nepalis leaving for work destinations, 208,452 were male and 8,712 female. A total 172,709 workers had gone through manpower agents where as 44,455 managed to land overseas work through individual contacts.
The departures for foreign work have nosedived amid slowing demand of Nepali workers at key labor destinations including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, which have been hit hard by declining overseas business due to the global financial downturn, said foreign employment agents.
“Overseas employers have dropped their labor demands as they are facing a tough time adjusting the existing manpower amid slowing business,” Som Bataju, vice-president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), told myrepublica.com.
Plagued by the global meltdown, the UAE and Malaysia have already announced they are downsizing the foreign workforce in certain sectors. Some other major destinations are also shedding their labor demand.
According to DoFE, the number of workers flying for Malaysia and the UAE plummeted by huge 30.62 percent and 30.11 percent as compared to the 50,554 and 45,342 recorded last year. Qatar, the favorite labor destination for Nepali workers, also saw a decline by 10.84 percent in the arrivals of Nepalis to 76,175 this year.
However, to the relief of the Nepali foreign employment sector, the number of Nepalis finding work in Saudi Arabia, the largest labor destination for Nepalis, went up about 15 percent to 48,749 over the year.
“Job opportunities in Saudi Arabia have not been affected as an oil-based Saudi economy has remained less impacted as compared to other labor destinations,” added Bataju. Similarly, other emerging destinations such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Macau and Afghanistan also witnessed a rise in the arrivals of Nepali job-seekers.
A total 6,360 workers left for Bahrain, the latest out of four countries to sign labor pacts with Nepal, during the year, up from the 5,099 recorded last year. Similarly, the number of workers departing for Kuwait and Oman also soared, by 324 and 1,661 to 2,291 and 4,247 respectively. Macau and Afghanistan saw rises by 287 and 138 to 559 and 1,538 over the period.
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