Job Creation in the Manufacturing Sector as a Strategy for Sustainable Economic Growth in Bangladesh

Bangladesh as an emerging South Asian economy intends to achieve considerable economic progress in order to significantly reduce its poverty and income inequality. The consistent level of economic growth maintained over the past decades has contributed to reduce Bangladesh’s poverty level—from 56.7% in 1992 to 23.6% in 2016. Alternatively, this data indicates that a large section of people lives below the poverty line who needs to be taken out of the poverty trap. Over the past decades, the structural transformation experienced by Bangladesh economy led to more share of non-agriculture sector not only in GDP but also in employment. Given the persistence of high level of poverty, job creation in the non-agriculture sector, particularly in the manufacturing sector, is still considered to be a major development strategy of Bangladesh. Besides, creating ‘decent jobs’ for the working population is another important aspect related to the sustainable economic growth of the country.