Overseas employment from Bangladesh surged by 28% in November, primarily due to the clearance of backlogs in the Saudi market post-skills certification changes. Despite this growth, the November figure remains 3% lower than the previous year. Labour recruiters attribute this to the ongoing Takamul program, which mandated skills certification for low-skilled workers, initially slowing recruitment. However, the situation is improving as BMET increases its testing capacity, gradually clearing the backlog. Saudi Arabia, the largest destination for Bangladeshi workers, recruited 64,605 workers last month, a 28% increase from October. The SVP requirement, introduced recently, has been temporarily relaxed for certain categories, such as cleaners, following Bangladesh's requests. With over 3.2 million Bangladeshi workers abroad, most in low-skilled jobs, the country's remittances jumped 31% to $2.89 billion in November, marking the third-highest inflow this year. Labour migration to traditional markets like Malaysia, Oman, and Bahrain remains suspended, while recruitment in Qatar, Singapore, the Maldives, and Kuwait is still low. European destinations like Portugal and Italy hired over 700 workers each last month, with other European countries hiring smaller numbers. The rise in remittances is linked to a decline in hundi operations and a more stable dollar rate, according to bank officials.
