Unemployment increased to 2.59 million in the first quarter (January-March) of 2023, up from 2.32 million in the last quarter of 2022, according to the quarterly data from the Labour Force Survey released by the BBS on Tuesday.

The rate of unemployment is currently 3.51%, according to the survey findings disclosed during a press briefing at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting room of the Planning Commission.

There are an estimated 7.36 crore employable people in the country whereas 7.11 crore people are currently employed. Of the total employed, 4.65 crore are men and 2.46 crore are women.

Also, of the total employed, 3.19 crore people are employed in the agriculture sector, 1.22 crore in the industrial sector, and 2.69 crore in the service sector, says the report.

According to the last Labour Force Survey released by the BBS, the unemployment rate in Bangladesh declined to 3.6% in 2022 mainly riding on an upward trend in women's and youths' participation, down from 4.2% reported in the previous survey conducted in 2016-17.

Employment in Bangladesh refers to a situation where individuals who do work for a wage, salary, commission, tips or any other pay, even if only for one hour in the previous week. If the answer is "no" then the person is unemployed, according to BBS.