Female workforce shrinks, service sector dominates in Economic Census 2024

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has launched the primary report of the recently conducted Economic Census 2024 showing a downward trend in the share of female employees in economic units and also an unparalleled dominance of the service sector in the economy across the country.

It reveals that in 2024, the share of female employees in economic units was 6.4%, which was 7.21% in 2013. The last economic census was conducted in 2013.

About the service sector, it shows that in 2013, the number of economic units in the service sector was 6,915,982, which increased to 10,835,896 in 2024. The share of the service sector is 91.23% of the total units in 2024.

On the other hand, a dismal picture emerged in regard to the manufacturing sector as the number of economic units in the manufacturing sector is 1,041,468 in 2024, which was 902,583 in 2013.

The number has increased by 15.38% from 2013 to 2024, whereas the growth was 100.41% in 2013 compared to 2001 and 2003.

Addressing the function, Planning Adviser Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud said economic activities have been expanding simultaneously in both rural and urban areas.

“But most rural entrepreneurs are not getting adequate funding compared to the urban investors,” he said at the primary report launching ceremony of the Economic Census 2024 at the BBS headquarters in Dhaka.

In the BBS Economic Census 2024, it appeared that in 2024, the share of economic units in rural areas was 70.27% while in urban areas it was 29.73%.

Referring to different statistics and reports of money laundering from banks during the previous Awami League regime, he said that many business groups like Beximco have no assets against their loans.

“These business groups are not able to pay salaries to their employees and industries of these groups are facing closure,” he said.

The Economic Census 2024 covered 118,77,364 economic units of which 7,548,147 reported different problems in running their business which include unavailability of capital, unavailability of easy access to loan, infrastructural problem, increase in production cost, unavailability of skilled manpower, electricity and fuel problem, problem in marketing and inadequacy of raw materials.

Appreciating the BBS for conducting the economic census the adviser said there was no scope for fake data inclusion as this was done through a digital monitoring system.

He noted that the government has planned to enact a statics law where full freedom of the data dissemination will be ensured.

“Before enacting the new law, I have already started practicing as I signed the report without going through it. After its release, I will go through it,” he added.

With BBS director general Mohammad Mizanur Rahman in the chair, the function was also addressed by former director general of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Dr K A S Murshid.