Pakistan’s latest National labour Force Survey 2024-25 shows a rise in unemployment to 7.1%, revealing key shifts in the country’s job market and wage structure.

Officials said the government is on track to meet IMF requirements by the end of 2025, while multiple national surveys are being rolled out.

Chief Statistician Dr. Naeem-ul-Zafar confirmed that three major IMF conditions will be fulfilled by December 2025. He added that the livestock census results have already been released, while the labour Force Survey is being published today and the household income survey will be issued next month.

According to him, data for the new labour survey was collected online for the first time, with 196 enumerators and 34 field formations participating in the nationwide exercise.

Unemployment rises to 7.1%

The National labour Force Survey 2024-25 shows that Pakistan’s unemployment rate has climbed to 7.1%, up from 6.3% in 2020-21.

This means unemployment has increased 0.8 percentage points over five years, reflecting growing pressures on the job market. The survey estimates that around 8 million Pakistanis are currently unemployed.

Labour force and population structure

According to the 2023 census, Pakistan’s population stands at 241.49 million. Of this, more than 77.2 million people form part of the labour force.

The data indicates that 43% of the country’s population is of working age, while 53.8% remains inactive. Overall, 3.3% of Pakistan’s total population is unemployed, as per the survey results.

The survey highlights that the services sector remains Pakistan’s largest employer, absorbing 31.83 million people, or 41.7% of the total employed population.

Agriculture Sector Second Largest Employer
The agriculture sector accounts for 33.1% of employment, with 25.53 million people working in farming and allied fields.
Industrial Sector Holds Third Position
The industrial sector employs 19.86 million people, reflecting 25.7% of the workforce.
These sector distribution patterns show the continued dominance of services while agriculture and industry follow closely behind.

The National labour Force Survey reports that the average monthly wage in Pakistan now stands at Rs39,042.
This marks a significant rise of Rs15,014 compared to Rs24,028 in 2020-21.

However, wage disparities continue:

Men earn an average of Rs39,302 per month
Women earn Rs37,347 per month