The number of Nepali workers leaving for overseas jobs dropped by a whopping 26.79 percent during the first two months of the current fiscal year.

Foreign employment agents attributed the fall in departure of Nepali migrant workers to the paddy season and upcoming festivals.

“Most of the youths were working in the fields on account of the paddy season. Similarly, others might be planning to leave for overseas jobs after the Dashain and Tihar festivities. We expect the number of outbound workers to go up after these festivals,” said Kumud Khanal, vice-president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA).

The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), which issues permits for foreign employment, stated that the total number of workers who left for overseas jobs declined to 60,745 during the period between mid-July to mid-September. The number during the same period last year was 82,973.

Data compiled by DoFE shows that during the two months period of the current fiscal year, a total of 58,002 male and 2,770 female workers left for overseas jobs, mainly in Gulf countries and Malaysia.

As in the past, Malaysia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia continued to become the four largest recipients of Nepali job seekers during the period. Malaysia, the most popular job market for Nepali youths, hosted 26,058 job aspirants during the past two months. Saudi Arabia, the largest destination of Nepali migrants, received total 14,476 workers during the period.

Similarly, a total of 10,530 Nepali workers left for Qatar and 6,235 to UAE.

Data shows that Malaysia received 12,151 workers during the mid-August to mid-September, down from 13,907 recorded the previous month. The flow of Nepalis to Qatar and Saudi Arabia also fell to 4,565 and 6,811 from 5,965 and 6,935 respectively.

However, the number of workers who left for the UAE rose to 3,186 during the month between mid-August and mid-September from 3,049 in the previous year.

Published on: 23 September 2012 | Republica