Bangladesh’s Overseas Deployment Fell 29% in September as Dhaka Targets 10 Million Jobs

DHAKA — The number of Bangladeshi workers cleared for overseas employment fell nearly 29 percent in September from a year earlier, government figures show, even as the government set a target of creating jobs abroad for 10 million people over five years.

A total of 70,304 workers received country clearance last month, down from 99,024 in September 2025, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training. That is a fall of 28,720.

The gap between what is happening and what is planned is the striking part. Over the first nine months of 2026, Bangladesh deployed 569,979 workers, against 838,892 in the same period last year — a decline of about 32 percent. The government's stated ambition of one crore overseas jobs over five years implies roughly two million placements a year, against a current run rate closer to 760,000.

September did improve on August, when 62,924 workers were cleared. The month-on-month rise was 11.7 percent.

Where the markets closed

The contraction is largely a matter of access rather than demand.

Several labour markets have been closed or restricted, including Malaysia, Oman and Bahrain, while the United Arab Emirates has not been fully recruiting less-skilled Bangladeshi workers. Recruiters say the war involving Iran and attacks in Saudi Arabia disrupted labour-market activity and added uncertainty across the Gulf.

Saudi Arabia nonetheless remained the largest destination in September, taking 32,915 workers, up from 29,135 in August. Singapore followed with 8,306, up from 6,944. Qatar took 6,282, the Maldives 5,015, Kuwait 4,538 and the UAE 4,442.

Two European destinations rose notably. Portugal cleared 1,249 Bangladeshi workers in September, up from 695 in August, and Italy 1,097, up from 828. The numbers are small against the Gulf, but the direction is the opposite of the regional trend.

Fewer workers, more money

The remittance figures point the other way, and the divergence is worth examining.

Bangladesh received $8.59 billion in inward remittances between July 1 and September 30, up 13.3 percent from $7.59 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, according to Bangladesh Bank. September's inflow was 3 percent higher than a year before.

But the monthly figure is turning. September brought $2.77 billion, the lowest monthly inflow in 11 months and down from $2.97 billion in August. The previous low was $2.56 billion in October 2025.

Bankers told The Business Standard they were uncertain of the precise cause, with some pointing to the Middle East conflicts and reported Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia in the second half of September. Others raised the possibility that the informal hundi market is reviving — which would mean money still arriving, but outside the banking system and outside the figures.

The access argument

Recruiters say the Gulf is only part of the problem.

Tipu Sultan, a former joint secretary of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, told The Business Standard that the Middle East conflict was one reason for the decline but not the main one. "The main problem is that we could not diversify our labour market amid shrinking job opportunities in the Gulf and Malaysia," he said.

He said markets including Brunei and Jordan are handled solely by the state agency BOESL, and Singapore by a limited number of agencies. "If the private sector cannot work, you cannot create opportunities for jobs. BOESL does not have that capacity," he said, arguing that all labour markets should be opened to eligible recruiting agencies.

State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Md Nurul Haque Nur said the government's five-year plan would raise annual deployment from the current 800,000 to one million, and that it was identifying demand in different countries, training workers in required languages and technical skills, and sending memorandum proposals to several governments to reopen closed markets.