KATHMANDU : Nepal’s economy added nearly four million jobs over the past decade, according to the World Bank’s recent Nepal Jobs Diagnostic report. The report released on Thursday states that the average job quality also increased significantly over the past decade.
But continued job creation, especially of wage jobs, is needed to absorb underutilized workers into better-quality, stable, and well-paid jobs, according to the report.
“The economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic – while not addressed in this report – highlights the importance of increasing stable and secure employment in the post-pandemic recovery period,” read the report.
Nepal’s economy has been gradually shifting from largely subsistence agriculture to more modern industry and services, and this structural transition is bringing better work opportunities for the labor force, the report states. However, not all job seekers are able to access quality jobs, especially women, despite great strides, according to the report.
“In the last decade, large numbers of men have entered jobs in construction, manufacturing, commerce and transportation, or have migrated abroad,” read the report. “Even though many of these are informal jobs or temporary wage jobs, they are nevertheless more productive and provide improved livelihoods compared to traditional low-productivity farm work. Women, on the other hand, have not transitioned in significant numbers,” it added.
The share of wage work in Nepal jumped from 17 percent to 24 percent of total employment between 2008 and 2018, as nearly half of the jobs added since 2008 were wage jobs, according to the report.
