“A nation can rebuild infrastructure or negotiate new loans — but once human capital leaves, it rarely comes back.”
Pakistan’s latest Labour Force Survey (LFS 2024-25) reveals a reality that has been building for years: rising unemployment, stagnant job creation, and an economy struggling to keep up with its own people. But behind the statistics lies a deeper, more dangerous crisis — the accelerating brain drain.
Pakistan is not just losing jobs.
It is losing its talent — the very people needed to rebuild its future.
The Youth Factor — Our Greatest Strength Turning Into Our Greatest Loss
Youth are the backbone of any country, and Pakistan is blessed with one of the largest youth populations in the world. This should have been our chance to rise, innovate, and compete globally.
Instead, we are watching this advantage slip away.
Unemployment, poor wages, instability, and a lack of professional pathways are pushing young Pakistanis toward hopelessness. Many see no future here and choose to migrate. What should have been Pakistan’s greatest asset is turning into a youth drain — a loss that the country cannot afford.
What the Labour Force Survey (LFS 2024-25) Reveals
A Sharp Rise in Joblessness
• Total unemployed people increased from 4.5 million to 5.9 million in four years.
• The national unemployment rate is now 7.1%, the highest in over two decades.
• Pakistan’s labour force stands at 83.1 million, with only 77.2 million employed.
A Workforce Growing Faster Than the Economy
Around 3.5 million young people enter the workforce each year — far more than the jobs created. This rising imbalance is one of the main causes of brain drain, pushing skilled young people to look abroad.
Youth, Women & Regional Breakdown
• Youth unemployment (15–24): 12.6%
• Ages 15–29: 11.5%
• Female unemployment: up to 9.7%
• KP has the highest unemployment rate at 9.6%
New Labour Definitions Expose Real Weakness
The new 19th ICLS standard reclassifies millions of subsistence agricultural workers as “not employed,” revealing the true scale of under-employment and job scarcity in rural Pakistan.
The Brain Drain — A Human Capital Flight Pakistan Can No Longer Ignore
Pakistan is now experiencing a level of human capital flight that goes far beyond normal migration. This is structural and long-term. The people leaving are not ordinary workers — they are the country’s most educated, skilled, and globally competitive individuals.
This wave of migration of skilled professionals includes:
• Doctors and nurses
• Engineers and IT specialists
• University lecturers and researchers
• Technicians and aviation staff
• Young graduates unable to find stable work
The brain drain in healthcare is especially worrying. Pakistan spends years training doctors, but they leave due to low salaries, outdated facilities, heavy workloads, and insecurity — the same reasons commonly cited in studies on why doctors leave developing countries.
The Effects of Brain Drain Are Already Visible
• understaffed hospitals
• slower technological progress
• declining research and innovation
• shortage of skilled teachers
• reduced industrial productivity
• greater reliance on foreign expertise
While some countries eventually experience reverse brain drain or brain gain, Pakistan is far from that point.
Today, more people are leaving than returning.
Why This Crisis Matters — The Human Capital Emergency
Pakistan’s real wealth has never been its minerals — it has always been its people. Losing them creates a national vacuum.
A shrinking skilled workforce means:
• lower productivity
• fewer startups
• weaker innovation
• declining global competitiveness
• slower economic recovery
This is no longer just unemployment.
It is a human capital emergency.
What Pakistan Must Do — A Practical, Human-Focused Plan
1. Revive Job-Creating Sectors
Industries such as IT, textiles, manufacturing, and agriculture must be supported through stable policies, affordable energy, and reduced business costs.
2. Invest in Youth Skills
Future industries revolve around AI, digital skills, renewable energy, automation, and advanced trades. Pakistan must prepare its youth accordingly.
3. Reduce the Causes of Brain Drain
Offer competitive salaries, better working environments, research opportunities, and merit-based growth to keep talent at home.
4. Support Young Entrepreneurs
Make it easier to start businesses through micro-loans, startup incentives, and simplified regulations.
5. Ensure Policy Stability
Young people and investors need certainty. Without long-term, consistent economic policy, nothing else will work.
Conclusion — Protecting Pakistan’s Future Before It Slips Away
The Labour Force Survey 2024-25 is more than a report; it is a warning. Rising unemployment at home and the rapid migration of skilled professionals abroad have created a dangerous dual crisis.
A nation with one of the world’s largest youth populations is losing its most precious resource — its people.
If Pakistan wants stability, progress, and global relevance, then employing, empowering, and retaining its youth must become the number one priority.
