Pakistan’s professionals and workers received a positive response in the global job market as the country’s export of manpower to different countries witnessed outstanding growth reaching 0.412 million by end of the first half of 2022.
According to statistics updated by the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, the number of workers who migrated from Pakistan to different foreign countries stood at 412,451 during January-June 2022, compared to 288,280 workers sent abroad from January-December 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The export of talent from Pakistan has rebounded to gain the pre-Covid level. In 2020, the number of workers sent by Pakistan decreased to 225,213. In 2019, the manpower export of the country stood at 625,876.
A majority of immigrant workers from Pakistan were hired by Gulf-based companies after a gap period in which they were laid off due to COVID-19 restrictions. Besides, new workers are also being hired by the companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab of Emirates (UAE) that are ready to resume their operations to the pre-COVID-19 levels.
The demand for workers has increased tremendously in a few countries of the Gulf region including KSA, UAE, and Qatar as these markets resumed working on their economic plans.
Top Overseas Employment Destinations
As many as 250,318 Pakistanis moved to the KSA alone during the first six months of 2022. Besides, UAE, Oman, and Qatar were three top destinations for Pakistanis workers during this period as the exports of workers to these countries stood at 72,196, 42,266, and 27,151 respectively.
The exports of workers to major countries such as the UK and the USA were only 798 and 365 respectively, and those to European countries were largely concentrated in Romania and Spain, with the number of workers receiving employment standing at 1,405 and 341 respectively.
Other countries in which Pakistanis were employed recently are Bahrain with 8,563, Kuwait with 769 workers, Cyprus with 1,072, Iraq with 985, and South Korea with 660.
Top Native Cities of Exported Workers
There are 154 cities in Pakistan from which workers moved to various countries for employment during the first six months of 2022, of which, Sialkot was home to 21,505 workers. It is followed by DG Khan with 20,826 workers, Gujranwala with 15,813, and Rawalpindi with 11,376 workers.
