616,497 Nepalis joined foreign jobs during the last fiscal year

Over 1,600 Nepalis left the country every day for foreign jobs last year.

The Department of Foreign Employment record shows that 616,497 Nepali got foreign jobs permit and about 1,689 Nepalis got foreign job approval every day last fiscal year from the department. The outflow was just 384,665 a year back.

The sudden jump of 37.60 per cent noticed in fiscal year 201213 was due to reentrants. The department started counting migrant workers reentering in the foreign job markets since September 2011. About 162,954 Nepalis reentered the foreign job markets last year.

About 453,543 Nepalis joined foreign jobs for the first time in the fiscal year 2012-13. In new hiring, Malaysia topped the foreign employment ladder hiring about 156,770 followed by Qatar (90,935), Saudi Arabia (86,276), United Arab Emirates (52,295) and Kuwait (14,401).

Major jobs markets — the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia — emerged as the top hiring countries for women migrant workers pulling Kuwait in the third position. The United Arab Emirates and Malaysia hired 7,687 and 7,165 Nepali women respectively. Kuwait hired 5,982 Nepalis between July 16, 2012, and July 15, 2013. Oman hired 647 Nepalis during the same period.

Israel — the most lucrative job market for Nepali women — hired just two Nepali women last fiscal year. Similarly, Lebanon hired about 160 Nepali women. Nepal had closed the door for Lebanon following the suicide of 16 housemaids in 2009 and Israel had banned Nepali women into the country on April 24, 2010.

Migration through outsourcing agencies dominated the workers' migration process during the fiscal year 2012-13 due to the enforcement of a 30-point reform programme introduced by the government.

Outsourcers sent 398,924 Nepali workers while 54.619 Nepalis joined the job markets through individual contracts.

SOS Manpower agency became the top hiring agency of the country in the fiscal year 2012-13 sending 7,536 Nepalis for foreign jobs followed by River Overseas (6,409), Lucky HR (4,327), Dhanush International (4,078) and Koshi (4,072).

Published on: 25 July 2013 | The Himalayan Times